"The national team lacks leadership."
Idman.biz reports that former Azerbaijani national team forward Kanan Karimov shared his thoughts with Sportal.az regarding the team’s recent struggles.
Kerimov believes fundamental changes are needed within the squad: "Unfortunately, we lost our last two matches. In my opinion, defeats against Haiti and Belarus are unacceptable, especially without scoring a single goal. It feels like the national spirit is 'dead.' Some players seem too comfortable, assuming they will be called up regardless of their performance. The team is missing strong leaders."
Speaking about head coach Fernando Santos, Karimov acknowledged his impressive career but emphasized the need for better squad selection: "Fans expect results, but at this rate, we won’t achieve anything in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. It's time to wake up before it’s too late."
Idman.biz
