Anar Sariyev, head coach of the Azerbaijan U-20 national team, has assessed the performance of the U-18 team at the European Championship in an interview with Offsideplus.az:

"Honestly, I do not evaluate our performance negatively. Although they could not display a good game at the beginning of the first match against Poland and the deficit reached 30 points, in the last - fourth period, our young basketball players managed to achieve a 22-0 run. I believe that such a situation, where a rival team is 22-0 down in the final section, has never been seen in the history of Azerbaijani basketball. Especially at such a critical moment in the game. When a team is down by 30 points, they usually lose morale, while the opponent feels comfortable and plays relaxed basketball. However, our U-18 team showcased a very beautiful game. I believe that if there had been two more minutes added, they could have left the game as winners.

In the second match, where they defeated Ukraine, they displayed a very good team performance, which I really appreciated.

In the third encounter, the opponent was Iceland. Honestly, Iceland and the Czech Republic were considered the favourites in the group. I had watched their first games, and they exhibited very good team play. They try to make as few mistakes as possible; they have formed a very good tactical collective. The injury of Huseyn Qaflanov and the team's fatigue in the third game spoke for itself. I think the score reflected that. However, they are resting today. I believe that tomorrow they will face Portugal with a full squad, with all their strength, and will only aim for victory.

It is worth noting that our U-18 team, competing in Group B of Division B, is currently in fourth place among six teams after three rounds. They will face their Portuguese counterparts tomorrow.