The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan has announced the dismissal of the national team head coach Fernando Santos.
Fernando Santos“The contract between the AFFA management and the Portuguese specialist has been terminated by mutual consent. The head coach of the U-21 team, Aykhan Abbasov, will lead the national team in the World Cup 2026 qualifying match against Ukraine,” the statement said.
The reason for the dismissal was the unsatisfactory results of the Azerbaijan national team under Santos’s leadership, with the team being relegated to Division D of the Nations League, and starting the World Cup 2026 qualifying cycle with a crushing defeat to Iceland — 0:5.
Recall that tomorrow, September 9, the match of the 2nd round of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers will take place, in which Azerbaijan will host the Ukrainian national team at home.
