While the Estonia national team currently has 12 foreign-based players in their squad, the Azerbaijan national team has only half that number.
According to Idman.biz, Fernando Santos has called up six foreign-based players for the upcoming games against Estonia and Sweden. Among them, central defender Zamig Aliyev, who plays for Egnatia in Albania, could wear the national team shirt for the first time. Although he was called up for the matches against Estonia and Slovakia in October, he didn’t play, just like our other foreign player, Ozan Kökçü. The 26-year-old midfielder, who plays for HJK in Finland, traveled with the team to Tallinn and Baku but didn’t get a single minute of playtime last month. It seems that the Portuguese coach was not impressed by Ozan’s performance in the September matches, including the away game against Slovakia, where Ozan started but was substituted at halftime. However, if Santos didn’t like his performance, why call him from Finland, 2800 kilometers away, to come to Baku?
On the other hand, 28-year-old defender Rahil Məmmədov, who plays for Radomiak in Poland, is a reliable choice for Fernando Santos. Although he didn’t play in the first match against Sweden in the UEFA Nations League, he has been on the field for the full 90 minutes in the last three matches. However, his own goal in the last match against Slovakia was a disappointment for Santos.
Other foreign-based players like Anton Krivotsyuk from South Korea (Daejeon), Mahir Emreli from Germany (Nürnberg), and Joshgun Diniyev from Turkiye (Bandırmaspor) have not secured a regular spot in the starting lineup. Sometimes they start but are substituted, or they play a limited amount of time. Additionally, Mahir will miss today’s match against Estonia due to being sent off in the previous match against Slovakia after receiving two yellow cards.
Renat Dadashov, another key player for Fernando Santos, has been sidelined due to injury for nearly a month. The Ankaragücü forward played in three of the four UEFA Nations League matches this season, starting in two and playing the full 90 minutes, but managed to score only once – in the home match against Sweden.
Meanwhile, Emil Mustafayev, who plays for Polissya in Ukraine, started against Slovakia but was substituted at halftime and has not appeared in subsequent matches.
Rasim
Idman.biz
