Sabah's UEFA Champions League first qualifying round opponents, TNS (Wales), are a well-known team in Europe, according to the club's head coach, Valdas Dambrauskas.

Offsideplus.az reports that the specialist spoke to the club’s press service, where he emphasized the importance of respecting every opponent:

"First and foremost, you have to respect every opponent. TNS have won the Welsh league title numerous times and are well-known in Europe, having dominated their domestic championship for over a decade. Regardless of your style of play, you must develop a winning mentality for every match. This highlights the need to respect every rival and prepare ourselves in the best possible way."

The head coach also shared his thoughts on the draw results:

"I think it doesn't matter at all who we drew against. The most crucial factor is how we prepare, what form we are in, and how determined and disciplined we remain. You can face an opponent that looks weaker on paper, but if you are not ready, you will run into trouble because everyone knows how to play football nowadays. Anything can happen over a two-legged tie."

Dambrauskas then looked ahead to the upcoming two-week training camp:

"The only thing we need to do right now is start this training camp with massive desire and perfect motivation. We must undergo two weeks of high-level preparation and refine our playing style during the friendly matches. We need to add new components to improve our current game and remind the players of the system we want. If we prepare correctly, the results will follow."

As a reminder, the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round matches will take place on July 7–8 and July 14–15. Led by Valdas Dambrauskas, the Azerbaijani champions will host the first leg.