Azerbaijan welcome Sweden to the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium this Thursday in the penultimate matchday of the UEFA Euro Qualifiers. Both sides are out of contention for qualification but look to be the best of the rest in the group.
Azerbaijan currently sits fourth in Group F after six games. In those six games, Azerbaijan have one win, one draw and four losses, leaving Azerbaijan on four points, three points from Sweden and 12 points from Austria.
In their last five games in all competitions, Azerbaijan have two wins, one draw and two losses. Rauno Sappinen opened the scoring for Estonia in the 27th minute giving Estonia the 1 - 0 lead going into halftime. Anton Kryvotsyuk equalised for Azerbaijan in the second half as the game finished 1 - 1 and Azerbaijan only managed three shots on target. Azerbaijan went toe to toe with Belgium with 45% of the possession and four shots on target in comparison to Belgium’s six shots on target. However, Yannick Carrasco scored the only goal of the game in the 1 - 0 win for Belgium.
However, Azerbaijan bounced back in a friendly against Jordan. A penalty from Emin Mahmudov gave Azerbaijan the lead in the added time of the first half, but Nizar Mahmoud Ahmed Al Rashdan equalised in the 57th minute for Jordan. Renat Dadashov then retook the lead for Azerbaijan in the 79th minute and Azerbaijan held on for the 2 - 1 win. The other win came the next time out against Estonia. Toral Bayramov and Ramil Sheydayev both scored in the first half to give Azerbaijan the 2 - 0 win.
The last time out for Azerbaijan was against Austria. Marcel Sabitzer’s penalty was the only goal of the game just minutes into the second half as Austria won 1 - 0, despite the late sending off of Guido Burgstaller.
Sweden sit just above Azerbaijan in third in Group F. In six games, Sweden have two wins, one draw and three losses which leaves them on seven points, nine points from Austria and ten points from Belgium.
In their last five games in all competitions, Sweden have three wins and two losses. In a friendly, Sweden hosted New Zealand. Callum McCowatt opened the scoring for New Zealand in the seventh minute, but a brace from Jesper Karlsson and a goal from Robin Quaison gave Sweden the 3 - 1 lead going into halftime. Anthony Elanga then added another goal in extra time to secure the 4 - 1 win for Sweden. However, a brace from Christoph Baumgartner gave Austria the 2 - 0 win back in the Qualifiers where Sweden could only manage four shots in comparison to Austria’s 21 shots.
Sweden bounced back against Estonia. Viktor Gyokeres, Dejan Kulusevski, Alexander Isak, Quaison and Viktor Claesson all scored in the 5 - 0 thrashing of Estonia where Sweden restricted Estonia to zero shots on target. Michael Gregortisch opened the scoring and Mark Arnautovic grabbed a brace in Austria’s 3 - 1 win over Sweden, with Emil Hokm scoring in the 90th minute.
The most recent outing for Sweden was a friendly against Moldova. Karlsson grabbed another brace and was joined on the scoresheet by Gustaf Lagerbielke in the 3 - 1 win over ten-man Moldova who had Artur Craciun sent off in the 87th minute.
Azerbaijan and Sweden have only met three times in their histories, with the first meeting coming as recently as 2000. Sweden completely dominate the fixture, winning all three games and scoring nine goals in comparison to Azerbaijan, who have failed to score against Sweden.