Futsal World Cup 2028 Qualifying: Azerbaijan Fight Back to Hold Czechia 2-2 in Lankaran
Azerbaijan earned their first point of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2028 qualifying main round on Thursday night, fighting back to draw 2-2 with Czechia at the Lankaran Olympic Sports Complex. All four goals came inside the opening 25 minutes of a frantic first half, and neither side could find a winner after the break.
The hosts flew out of the blocks. Kanan Manafov opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and five minutes later Azerbaijan doubled their lead when Czech defender Radim Záruba turned the ball into his own net. Czechia, though, hit back fast — Michal Seidler pulled one back in the 21st minute, and within four minutes the scores were level through an own goal from Azerbaijan’s Murad Guliyev. At 2-2 after 25 minutes, the game had already delivered its drama, and the second half stayed goalless despite chances at both ends.
Group 12 still wide open
The draw leaves Czechia top of Group 12 with four points from two matches, after their 2-1 win over Azerbaijan in the reverse fixture last month. Latvia sit second with one point from one game — they drew 3-3 with Czechia in October — while Azerbaijan are third with one point from two matches. With only three teams in the group and every point counting towards the elite round race, nothing is settled yet.
Azerbaijan now have a quick chance to climb the table. They host Latvia at the Baku Sports Palace on Sunday, November 8, knowing a win would move them level with Czechia and blow the group wide open. Czechia, meanwhile, will watch that one closely — their own November window is done, and their fate now partly rests on what happens in Baku.
Six more ties tonight across the November window
Friday is the busiest night of the November window, with six ties kicking off across Europe. The headline act is in Le Mans, where France host Montenegro at 20:00 CET in a Group 2 top-of-the-table clash — both sides won their openers, France 6-0 in Moldova and Montenegro 6-1 at home to Moldova. Elsewhere, Croatia host Germany, Kosovo welcome Italy, Andorra face the Netherlands, Slovenia take on Norway and Belarus meet Albania.
The window continues over the weekend, with Sweden vs Armenia and Poland vs Northern Ireland on Saturday, and Romania vs Denmark plus Azerbaijan vs Latvia on Sunday. FutsalAll will have all the results and what they mean for the road to 2028 as the window unfolds.
