The head coach of the Azerbaijan national team, Ayhan Abbasov, summing up yesterday’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Iceland (0:2), compared the opponent’s team with the Ukraine national team.
«We wanted to earn points. We believed in it. Unfortunately, we lost. The opponent’s strength was known. We knew they perceived this match as the last one.
The opponent had open spaces. Unfortunately, we poorly executed our set pieces. I wouldn’t say Iceland defended that well. One of their most vulnerable areas was during set-piece situations.
I don’t want to call it an excuse, but today the refereeing was against us. There was an episode with a yellow card for Rustam Akhmedzade. I think there was a penalty there.
The Iceland national team is a good team. If we compare it with Ukraine, they give a more cohesive impression as a team. In the first half, our defenders lacked composure, which was a consequence of the opponent’s activity. In the second half, we were better. In the first half, we had chances — if we had been more composed, we could have scored. We conceded simple goals. We had losses and newcomers in the lineup. We fought until the end. There’s one last match with France, and we will prepare for it,» Abbasov said at the post-match press conference.