The performances of Azerbaijan national team players, both from local and foreign leagues, have once again raised questions about their abilities after the recent matches against Estonia (0:0) and Sweden (0:6).
How are foreign legion players from the Azerbaijan Premier League performing in their respective national teams?
Idman.biz reports that Qarabag midfielder Marko Jankovic is also a key player for the Montenegro national team.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Montenegro's match against Turkiye, Jankovic shared his views: “The fact is that we are in a crisis in terms of results. Better days will come, but when – that's the question. We need to view the situation objectively. Currently, teams in League B are stronger than us. We will try to do our best and get a positive result. Turkey has a target and deserves to move up to League A.”
Despite being the underdog in the UEFA Nations League B, Montenegro managed to beat Turkey 3-1 in the final round, preventing the "crescent-stars" from topping the group. However, just three days earlier, Montenegro had lost 2-0 to Iceland.
Neftchi midfielder Edvin Kuc also plays for the Montenegro national team. He came on in the second half during the recent games against Iceland and Turkey.
Qarabag’s Marko Vesovic has been sidelined from the national team since September due to injury.
Montenegro's head coach, familiar to Azerbaijani fans, is Croatian Robert Prosinečki, who managed the Azerbaijan national team from 2014-2017. Under his leadership, Montenegro started with two wins but then suffered seven consecutive losses before finally securing a victory in the last match. However, Montenegro ended up last in their group and dropped to League C.
Meanwhile, Qarabag player Patrick Andrade from Cabo Verde featured in the second half of their match against Egypt (1-1). Due to a yellow card, he missed their next match against Mauritania. Unfortunately, Cabo Verde did not qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
On the other hand, Algeria, the clear leader in their group, easily secured qualification for the competition. Yassin Benzia, the attacking midfielder for Algeria, came on as a substitute in the second half during their games against Equatorial Guinea (0-0) and Liberia (5-1).
From the African legionnaires, Zira’s Rwandan center-back Ange Mutsinzi is considered a key player for his national team. Rwanda is close to qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after a 1-0 loss to Libya and a 2-1 win over Nigeria. Mutsinzi played 90 minutes in both matches, scoring in the latter.
Sumgayit midfielder Tresor Mossini, part of the Burundi national team, couldn't help his team qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. He was on the bench for their match against Malawi and played the second half against Senegal (0-2).
Two members of Moldova's national team play in Azerbaijan: Araz-Nakhchivan goalkeeper Cristian Avram was on the bench for Moldova’s match against Andorra (1-0) but played the first half in a friendly against Gibraltar (1-1). Turan midfielder Denis Marandiči did not feature in either of these matches. Moldova managed to move up from League D to C in the Nations League.
Finally, Neftchi winger Keelan Lebon, born in Paris but representing Saint Martin, featured in two recent matches for his national team. He scored twice in their 3-0 victory over Grenada, although Saint Martin finished last in their group, dropping from League B to C in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Idman.biz
