A friendly between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan will take place 23 September 2026 at 12:00 EDT / 09:00 PDT. The match will be played at Palms Sports Arena in Baku.
The upcoming friendly will be Abbasov's side's final test before the start of the UEFA Nations League. Azerbaijan will compete in Division D, where they are overwhelming favourites, so they must live up to that status from their opening matches.
In 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Azerbaijan were well short of a place at the tournament — six qualifying matches brought just one point, from a home draw with Ukraine (1:1). Abbasov's team scored only three goals throughout the campaign, although the underdogs looked respectable at home to France (1:3).
Even against less dangerous opponents in June friendlies, Azerbaijan did not show much attacking quality. Matches against Malta (0:2) and San Marino (2:1) showed that Abbasov's staff have little to build on in terms of controlling the game and creating danger: the three-man defence provides width, but there are still few shots.
Tajikistan are 25 places above their opponents in the FIFA rankings (101st versus 126th), but their squad is worth half as much (€9.7m versus €21.7m). Angelovski's players are unbeaten in eight matches — under the Macedonian, the team played two decent friendlies against India (3:1 and 1:1).
Tajikistan lack serious creative players. Their biggest star is FC Rostov goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov, so there is no reason to doubt the reliability of their back line. The game in Baku will not be full of chances: Azerbaijan are conserving energy for the UEFA Nations League, but their double chance at home can be included in a combo.
Azerbaijan
