The Azerbaijan National Football Team
Results for Azerbaijan Since The Break up of the Soviet Union
Nov 19, 2009 Jonathan Squirrell
Azerbaijan’s first foray into competitive international football was notably unsuccessful. In the qualifying tournament for Euro 96 they played ten matches, but lost the first nine. In their final match they held Poland to a goalless draw to achieve their first point. In defence of this performance, they had been handed a near impossible task, facing European powerhouses Romania and France, as well as the capable Slovakians, Israelis and Poles. The next draw, for the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, seemed kinder. Azerbaijan were pitted against Norway, Hungary, Finland and Switzerland. Despite a 5-0 humbling in their first game in Oslo, Azerbaijan bounced back to record their first competitive victory, a 1-0 win at home to the Swiss. This was the only high point of the campaign however, and they lost their remaining six matches, once again finishing bottom of their group.
Azerbaijan Humble Serbia and Montenegro
Qualifying for Euro 2000 began poorly for Azerbaijan, as they were comfortably beaten by Slovakia and Hungary, before suffering the humiliation of losing in Liechtenstein. However results picked up, and they beat Liechtenstein 4-0 in the return fixture, before achieving an even more impressive result by holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw. The rest of their matches ended in defeat, but they did at least gain enough points to finish ahead of Liechtenstein. The 2002 World Cup qualifiers set Azerbaijan yet again against Slovakia, but after another defeat in Bratislava, the Azerbaijan side finally achieved a victory over their frequent opponents, winning 2-0 in Baku. In the same campaign they managed home draws with the FYRO Macedonia, and fellow former Soviets Moldova. They still finished bottom of the table however.
The Euro 2004 qualifiers saw Azerbaijan beaten twice by Italy, Wales and Finland respectively, but they did manage two superb results against Serbia-Montenegro, forcing a 2-2 draw away from home, before winning the return match 2-1. The 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign saw no such respite however. At home they held Wales, Northern Ireland and Austria, but lost to England and Poland. Away from home they failed to manage a point.
Conflict Between Azerbaijan and Armenia
After finishing bottom in all but one of their qualifying tables since their inception, Azerbaijan can hardly have expected to make an impact on the Euro 2008 tournament. But their task was made harder still when UEFA cancelled their matches against Armenia. The two former Soviet states had been in conflict in the early nineties, and the dispute remained unsettled. The fixtures were considered a security risk, and shelved. Neither side were awarded any points for the games. Of the twelve matches Azerbaijan did play, they lost all but three, picking up a rare away point in Kazakhstan, who they also held at home, and beating Finland 1-0.
Next came qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Azerbaijan were drawn not only against Germany, but, for the first time, against Russia. Expected defeats to these giants, as well as to Finland and Wales left Azerbaijan floundering in their usual position near the bottom of the table. But one of their most impressive results - a draw at home to Russia - and a draw and a victory over Liechtenstein meant that for only the second time in their short history they avoided finishing last in their group, as before, this was at the expense of Liechtenstein.
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