The end of the fiascos experienced in Azerbaijani football in recent days resulted in our first point in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round. We present the events leading up to and after the 5:0 defeat against Iceland day by day.

September 1

The preparation of the Azerbaijani national team for the first matches in Group D of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round started with a training session held in Baku on September 1. Only Mahir Emreli did not participate in the first training session.

September 2

Head coach Fernando Santos decided to leave earlier for the team to adapt to Iceland, which is -4 hours from Baku and has a flight time of more than 7 hours. Based on this, the national team, coaching staff, AFFA representatives and sports journalists left for Reykjavik on September 2. M. Emreli also joined the team in the Icelandic capital on the same day and the whole team came together.

September 3

The first training session of the A national team took place in Reykjavik.

September 4

The head coach of our national team, Fernando Santos, and Emin Mahmudov, appeared in front of the media. The Portuguese coach voiced his thoughts, “We will try to win in Iceland and return to Azerbaijan with a victory. We only want to write history.”

Then, the team held an open training session for the press. Before the training session, Rahman Dashdamirov answered journalists’ questions. Then, AFFA Secretary General Jahangir Farajullayev’s briefing took place. “We have no demands on the team, they should demand them from themselves. If a bad idea had been formed, Fernando Santos would not be here,” the Secretary General said.

September 5

Our team started its fight for a place in the 2026 World Cup in Reykjavik. We were trailing by a minimal score (1:0) in the first half of the Iceland-Azerbaijan match, and in the 73rd minute, the score was already 5:0. When the score was 4:0, the “National Squad” fan group, which had come from Europe to support the national team, left the stands.

AFFA General Secretary J. Farajullayev went to the media zone after the 5th goal and immediately after the game, made a statement to journalists: “This result is the disrespect of the national team’s head coach Fernando Santos towards the Azerbaijani people. Such a defeat is unacceptable. We are waiting for the report on this defeat.”

Fernando Santos from the press conference:

– Have you ever resigned in your career? – No. – Are you thinking of resigning now? – No. What should be the reason for your resignation? – I have a contract. – You have enough money. Compensation must be paid so that you can leave? Do you not respect yourself? – I have a contract.

Captain Emin Mahmudov’s statement to journalists: “Everyone is to blame for this result. Everyone is ashamed, everyone wanted to be better. Such a disgrace should never happen again.”

September 6

The national team returned to Baku.

September 7

Nariman Akhundzade was removed from the squad due to injury.

September 8

A press conference and open training session were held before the match against Ukraine. The dismissal of the head coach of the national team Fernando Santos was announced by the general secretary J. Farajullayev. Coach Rashad Eyyubov and footballer Mahir Emreli appeared before the press. It was decided to field the team for the match by the head coach of our U-21 team Aykhan Abbasov, and our U-21 team was assigned to Elnur Chodarov.

Midfielders Khayal Aliyev and Shahin Shahniyarov joined the U-21 team, and Rustam Ahmadzade (“Sumgayit”) and Abdulla Khaybulayev (“Sabah”) were recruited to the A national team instead.

September 9

Game day. First, our U-21 team drew 1:1 in Mardakan within the framework of the European Championship qualifying round. The same score was recorded in the Azerbaijan-Ukraine match for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers: 1:1. Emin Mahmudov scored the 15th goal in his national team career, becoming the team's top scorer and surpassing Gurban Gurbanov's record.

After the match, Aykhan Abbasov hinted at his readiness to coach the national team at a press conference: "3 places are difficult, but 2 places are not a problem."

***
Thus, the national team led by Aykhan Abbasov managed to snatch 1 point from Ukraine. There was no big game, and in this case, with a 1-day head coach, this was simply impossible. The opponent's statistics show a clear advantage in the match. In this match, our national team was superior to the national team of just 4 days ago. If our players, who lost 0:5 in the "Land of Fire and Ice", had also shown a shameful result in Azerbaijan, they probably would not have been able to escape the fire. Fernando Santos was the one who burned in the middle of the ocean. We are talking about the head coach who lost 9 of his 11 games with our national football team, who never won, and who relegated the team to the last place in the Nations League - League D. This European champion, who mocked all of Azerbaijan and said "we only want to write history" the day before the 0:5 defeat, became the most incompetent foreign head coach in the country's history. He pocketed his compensation, but at least he paid the price for betraying his profession at a press conference in Reykjavik.

The draw against Ukraine cannot be fully attributed to Aykhan Abbasov, but it is possible to ignore the changing atmosphere with his arrival. The 44-year-old specialist, who knows how to work with young football players and create order in the teams he plays for, still had some way to go in the U-21. Even though he was thrown into the fire, he managed to get out unscathed. He himself implicitly expressed his desire to coach the national team after the conference. Therefore, Aykhan Abbasov should be allowed to play football on the field where foreigners have been trying to play horses for years.