Azerbaijan Earn Draw Against Ukraine in World Cup Qualifiers
The latest round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers has been played. In Group D, Azerbaijan hosted Ukraine in Baku. Just a day before the match, AFFA parted ways with head coach Fernando Santos and temporarily appointed Aykhan Abbasov to lead the national team.
Abbasov’s first test as head coach ended positively, as Azerbaijan delivered a brave performance against a strong opponent, showing a different style compared to the conservative approach under Santos.
Both teams created chances in the first half, but the opening 45 minutes ended goalless. Early in the second half, in the 51st minute, Sudakov converted Zubkov’s assist from the right flank to put Ukraine ahead. Azerbaijan, however, did not sit back and continued to push forward. Their efforts were rewarded in the 72nd minute when captain Emin Mahmudov calmly scored from the penalty spot to level the match.
No further goals were scored, and the game ended 1-1. With this result, both national teams picked up their first points of the qualifying campaign.
In the group’s other match, France defeated Iceland 2-1 to reach six points from two games. After two rounds, France lead Group D with 6 points, Iceland are second with 3, while Ukraine and Azerbaijan share third and fourth place with 1 point each.
