Azeri star back to face Wales

Back from injury
Winger Tagizade, his country's player of the year for 2002, has just resumed full training after a serious back injury and is included in a 20-man party for the trip to Cardiff.

Missing pair
However, coach Asgar Abdullayev is without two key players in defender Rashad Sadikhov and striker Farrukh Ismaylov, both of whom are suspended. "I am worried about losing Sadikhov," Abdullayev said. "He would have been perfect to mark [Wales winger] Simon Davies."

New faces
The trainer has also brought in three new faces. One debutant is Bahram Shakhguliyev from Iranian side Mashinsazi. The other two, Zeynal Zeynalov and Zaur Ramazanov, are currently with Futsal clubs, the national football competition in Azerbaijan having been postponed since April 2002. Zeynalov is an Under-21 international.

Unwanted exiles
Meanwhile, Abdullayev has omitted Russian-based players Dmitri Kramarenko of PFC CSKA Moskva and Emin Agaev from FC Khimki. "I am tired of asking those players to play for the national team when it is something they clearly do not want to do," he said. The coach added that two of the 20 nominees would not make the trip to Wales. Azerbaijan are bottom of Group 9 with one point from four games.

Azerbaijan squad
Hasanzade, Mahamedov, Akhmedov, F Mamedov, R Mamedov, K Guliyev, E Guliyev, Imamaliev, Hajiyev, Hashymov, Yadullayev, Musayev, Ramazanov, Zeynalov, M Gurbanov, Tagizade, G Gurbanov, Shahguliyev, K Mamedov, Aliyev.