Agil Nabiyev, head coach of the Azerbaijan national team for players under 17, shared his thoughts on the first two matches held within the framework of the second round of the European Championship qualifying stage.
According to Medianews.az citing "Qafqazinfo," the specialist evaluated the matches against Bulgaria (1:1) and Lithuania (0:0) in a statement to AFFA's press service:
"We were the dominant side in the first match against Bulgaria. The opponent's biggest 'weapon' was set pieces. They scored the goal in exactly that way. Nevertheless, we managed to score the equalizing goal. Although we created good scoring opportunities to win, we could not capitalize on them. Our main problem is in the final passes and shooting. We experienced this problem again in the second match against Lithuania. From the beginning to the end, we fully dictated the match and had more possession of the ball. The referee also did not award us two clear penalties. We had countless goal opportunities. The players must work very hard to overcome this deficiency. We go into matches after only 3-4 days of preparation with the national team, so we do not have time to work on these issues."
Agil Nabiyev also spoke about the upcoming match against Malta, which will be held on March 30 as part of the group’s final round:
"The main thing is that there is a desire to win in the team, players come out to each match to achieve victory. I believe that we will be able to realize this in the match against Malta. Our goal is to definitely win the match against Malta. The players are somewhat tired. In any case, we must play well in the last match of the group and achieve the desired result."
It should be noted that our U-17 team, placed in Group 2 of League B, is currently in third place with 2 points.