Azerbaijan poised for victory over Montenegro, ex-goalie says

Former goalkeeper of Azerbaijan’s national minifootball team, Davud Karimi, has expressed confidence in his country's chances ahead of tonight’s World Cup semifinal against Montenegro.

Speaking to Report, Karimi acknowledged Montenegro's strong preparation but maintained that Azerbaijan remains the favorite to advance.

"We’ve consistently defeated Montenegro in both friendly matches and international competitions," he said. "They've taken this year’s tournament very seriously and earned their semifinal spot by overcoming the Czech Republic."

Karimi identified Serbia and the Czech Republic as the teams he initially saw as Azerbaijan's biggest challengers.

"Montenegro is a formidable opponent. They’ve conceded just one goal in five matches at this championship," he noted. "Still, I firmly believe Azerbaijan has the upper hand in this semifinal and has what it takes to go on and win the title."

Karimi also suggested that Montenegro is likely to adopt a counterattacking strategy against Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijan vs. Montenegro semifinal is scheduled to kick off tonight at 08.00 pm (GMT+4).