"Starting with the hosts, always knowing that they faced a monumental uphill battle when getting their World Cup qualifying adventure underway back in September, Azerbaijan have only further cemented their spot as Group D's ultimate whipping boys. Last seen falling to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Ukraine, interim boss Aykhan Abbasov finds his temporary squad at the heart of another extended struggle."
"Getting their Group D campaign underway with a 5-0 drumming against Iceland on September 5th, Azerbaijan have also shown some glaring defensive issues. Including a 3-0 defeat against European giants France last month, Thursday's hosts find themselves once again pencilled in as a real underdog contender here. Azerbaijan Team News Overcoming a muscle injury earlier in the month, Kaiserslautern attacker Mahir Emreli has been included in Azerbaijan's squad. The former Dinamo Zagreb striker could replace 21-year-old Nariman Akhundzade in the final third."
Azerbaijan enter the match as heavy underdogs after a poor run in Group D, collecting only one point from four qualifiers and failing to win competitively since November 2023. Defensive frailties have led to heavy defeats, including 5-0 to Iceland and 3-0 to France. Kaiserslautern forward Mahir Emreli has recovered from a muscle injury and is included in Azerbaijan's squad, potentially replacing Nariman Akhundzade, with Emin Mahmudov captaining and Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev starting in goal. Iceland need a win to maintain World Cup hopes after earning a 2-2 draw with France and starting the campaign with a 5-0 victory over Azerbaijan.
Read at Soccer News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]