In the UEFA Nations League, teams are grouped based on relative strength, ensuring a closer competition compared to World Cup or European Championship qualifiers. Despite this balance, one-sided results do occur, with Azerbaijan recently experiencing one of the heaviest defeats in the tournament’s history.
The 6-0 loss to Sweden marks Azerbaijan as the fifth team in the Nations League to endure such a lopsided scoreline. While this is disheartening, Azerbaijan is in the company of notable teams like Germany, who also suffered similar outcomes in past editions.
Idman.biz delves into the history of the Nations League to identify other teams that have faced similar challenges:
In the B and D leagues, no matches have ever ended with such a significant scoreline.
The first occurrence of a 6:0 score happened in the inaugural Nations League tournament. On September 8, 2018, in the first round of League A, Iceland conceded six goals against Switzerland. Just three days later, Croatia experienced a similar loss against Spain in the same league.
In the 2020 tournament, Spain once again delivered a crushing blow. On November 17, they defeated Germany 6:0 in a match that cost the Germans their spot in the semifinals.
Two years ago, during the third Nations League edition, a similar result was recorded in League C. On June 7, Turkiye secured a 6:0 victory against Lithuania in the second round.
Azerbaijan has now become the fifth team in Nations League history to suffer a defeat by such a margin.
Additionally, conceding 17 goals in a single tournament is a rare occurrence. Before Azerbaijan, this misfortune was shared by Armenia in League B during the 2022/2023 season and Bosnia and Herzegovina in League A this year. However, Gibraltar holds the record for most goals conceded in a single season. In the 2022/2023 League C tournament, they let in 18 goals across six matches, eventually relegating to League D—an outcome that mirrors Azerbaijan's current predicament.
Vugar Mammadov
Idman.biz
