Interview with former Azerbaijani national football player Afran Ismayilov to Sportal.az
- Azerbaijani national team lost to Haiti. Was it an expected result for you, or did you believe that our national team would win?
- Frankly, I expected our national team to lose. I knew that the Haitian national team is very good physically, and their players also play for strong clubs. But such a defeat was unexpected for me. I thought it would be at least 1:2 or 1:1. I expected that we would at least score a goal. But we suffered a disappointing defeat. What can I say? We need to prepare for the next match.
- In general, did you see anything that changed in the Azerbaijani national team from the game? Or, was there nothing that changed in the spirit or the game?
- No, I didn't see anything that changed in terms of the match. On the contrary, I think there was a further decline. We were going on counterattacks, but we couldn't finish. There is a lack of teeth, there is no team play. We played in that system. There was no team spirit.
- When and how do you think the Azerbaijani national team can win over its opponents?
- I don't know. We will have more difficult games from now on. We are preparing for the qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. We have more difficult and stronger opponents there. If we talk about strategy and development, losing is not a problem, at least we need to restore the team spirit and develop the match. It is very difficult to talk about this because we don't see it.
- New players have been recruited to our national team. But they were not given a chance, the players we are used to were still released on the field. Couldn't we play with a more updated, younger squad for the new cycle?
- There weren't many new players recruited to the national team. It was Shahin Shahniyarov from the First League. It was a risk to let him on the field. New ones are invited all the time. The main thing is to go there and play. If he can do it, if he develops himself, he will also play on the field. There is a player I like more, and that is Sabuhi Abdullazade. It was important for me that he was invited to the national team. He was invited, he entered the field. He played very well. He is one of the most popular players in Azerbaijan for me. If he develops himself, he can play in very good clubs.
- What result do you expect from the national team in the match against Belarus? Do you think it will be possible to defeat the Belarusians, who defeated Tajikistan 5:0 a few days ago in Baku?
- It is not a problem for them to beat Tajikistan. Belarus is a worthy opponent for us. In terms of play, they are weaker than Haiti. If we play one of our good games, we can beat them. It is very important to win this match. Even though it is a friendly match, we need to bring the winning spirit back to the team. We cannot do that. That is what is sad. We can win the match against Belarus. Our national team does not have the winning spirit, we look very helpless and weak. As a result, we lose.
- After the match with Haiti, can we conclude that our national team, which already has no chance, will not be able to earn a single point in the group with Ukraine, Iceland, Croatia or France in the 2026 World Cup?
- I don't want to talk about it. Because there is no need to talk about it. This topic is closed. If we collect a single point there, it's good. After such matches, there is no point in talking about the matches in the 2026 World Cup. If we are thinking about development, our priority is to restore the team spirit. For this, the team must have a leader, they must stand out. Although the head coach plays an important role, the players themselves must have a winning spirit, they must fight. They don't have these. These are the players we have. We look helpless, which leads to defeat. Everyone must fight for the national team, both current players and those who played in the past. From now on, it will become even more difficult. Because the legionnaire limit is also being lifted, and the playing of Azerbaijani players will also be questioned. How will the players come to the national team, in what condition will they be? Our end seems difficult. We all want it to be good. I wish our national team success, the national team is our beating heart. It is possible to lose, but we must put our heart on the field even when we lose. The issue that affects us is that we look very helpless, we concede cheap goals. The opponent's players play very comfortably in our penalty area, they turn very comfortably, they shoot very comfortably. We expect to win, and the Haitian national team moves comfortably in our penalty area. Who knows.... There is one thing that you fight and lose. But it is sad to concede such cheap goals. This also comes from the fact that the team has no spirit, desire, or leader. I don't know how this helplessness will end. Our end does not look good.
Idman.biz
