The Azerbaijan national team will test their strength in a friendly match against Tajikistan tomorrow.

In a pre-match press conference, head coach Ayxan Abbasov addressed journalists' questions regarding the upcoming fixtures.

On the upcoming matches:

"We have four matches ahead of us. It’s the first time we have four consecutive games at the national level. Therefore, we have called up a larger squad. The opponent has not lost since 2026. We also had players who joined the squad late. Anton and Jalal have hardly trained. We have a general plan. We want to play well tomorrow and secure a victory. Our preparation will be based on three matches. We want to win at home, with the support of our fans."

On the opponent:

"Friendly matches are necessary. Liechtenstein and Lithuania will face each other on the 24th. We also had to turn to Asia. In the last two matches, we had numerous goal-scoring opportunities. The national team needs confidence, which is why such choices have been made."

On strategy and advantages:

"Having one match away is an advantage. It takes five and a half hours to get to Lithuania. Mahir plays 10-12 matches in a month. This increases the risk of injury. The same applies to Rahman and Rufat. The squad is large."

On Nariman:

"All players are under observation. We were pleased that he came to Turkey. He had fewer chances in America. He mentioned he wasn’t happy during the summer training camp. He gives his maximum in training. Nariman needs to play. He is working hard. He hasn’t played a minute in the last matches."

On goalkeepers:

"If we touch on names, everyone has their own candidate. Emil is always in goal, and Aydin is as well. Ravan is also promising. Shahriyar is the best goalkeeper for Azerbaijan. When he is injured, friendly matches are different from official matches. We have gained Mahir, Shah, and others. He needs to think about his national career. Salah is a good person and goalkeeper. We brought Salah back to the national team. At that time, Qabala was at the bottom of the league. Salah was still on our list. But we also need to make way for the younger players. We have found young talents like Edgar and Oruc. He needs to feel the national team."

On the players' experiences abroad:

"Sometimes you wonder what to do? They say you go out to have fun. It’s as if we haven’t seen Europe. I was pleased with how Mahir was welcomed at Rakuv. We were in Bursa, and there are high expectations from Toral."

On Toral Bayramov:

"We are working in such a system that we don’t pay much attention. We want players to experience life abroad. He is substituted in the 37th minute, and I don’t understand why. He doesn’t make any mistakes; he is substituted for a foreign player."