Gibraltar u21 faced narrowest of defeats against Azerbaijan

Gibraltar U21 0-1 Azerbaijan U21

Gibraltar Under-21s entered Tuesday evening’s match against Azerbaijan with greater confidence after their improved performance against Scotland.
Having put behind them last month’s 12-0 defeat to Scotland and the 11-0 loss to Portugal, last weekend’s 2-0 defeat, though still a loss, had helped to heal some of the wounded pride among the players.
Azerbaijan, the final match of 2025, was a chance to try and restore that confidence further.

Richards, who had missed Gibraltar’s away match, played up front.
Gibraltar had their opportunities in the first half through Scanlon.
A tight contest kept the first half scoreless, with all to play for in the second.

Azerbaijan found the side-netting from a corner early on, but Gibraltar’s response was immediate. Gomez feinted well to create space, but his shot, taken under pressure, went wide.

The early moments of the second half were end-to-end.

A corner delivery in the 53rd minute was played short, worked into the penalty area, and struck with power into the far top corner to give Azerbaijan the lead.

Gibraltar did not yield space and set about searching for an equaliser, pressing forward and tackling hard to halt their opponents’ attacks.

In the 71st minute, a floated long-distance cross to the back post from Richards was met by Emrani, whose header went over the bar as he struggled to turn it goalwards.

After pressing high for an extended spell, Gibraltar suddenly found themselves defending again in the 83rd minute. A free-kick swung into the box was met by a dipping header, which Victor did well to punch clear off the goal line.

Gibraltar then looked to get back on the front foot but were at risk of leaving themselves exposed at the back, with Azerbaijan threatening through long balls.
This opened the game up, creating gaps between the two defences as play stretched wider.

Time-wasting became increasingly evident from Azerbaijan, with substitutions and dead-ball situations taking notably long to be executed.

Gibraltar earned a free-kick near the corner flag in the 90th minute, giving them a final chance to apply pressure, but a poor delivery ended their hopes.

Missing that final decisive ball, Gibraltar’s efforts were not enough to avoid another defeat, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

Two defeats against Scotland and Azerbaijan saw just three goals conceded and none scored. While disappointing given the improved confidence and performances, it was still a significant step forward from the twenty-three goals conceded against Scotland and Portugal only last month.

Gibraltar’s next Under-21 match will be a home tie against Bulgaria in March.