Rofshen Meredov, Turkmenistan's coach, spoke candidly after his team lost to Thailand and was eliminated from the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying round.
Rofshen Meredov, head coach of Turkmenistan's national team, stated that his team deserved to advance alongside Thailand after losing 1-2 to the War Elephants in the final match of Group D in the Asian Cup qualifiers. Turkmenistan finished second in the group, but the rules allow only the top team to advance, resulting in a painful elimination. Meanwhile, Thailand qualified for the 2027 Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia as group champions.
"I think both teams deserved to advance together, but the competition rules allow only one team to qualify. We are proud of this squad; everyone on the team certainly has a bright future. From now on, we will review what happened and work on further development."
Regarding the issue that Turkmenistan won 3-1 over Thailand on artificial turf at home, but then lost 1-2 on natural grass in Thailand,
Meredov responded, "The difference between natural and artificial turf doesn’t matter. Everything depends on the game on the field because when we play elsewhere, it's also on natural grass."
Regarding Thailand's coaching change from Ishii to Anthony Hudson, Meredov said, "I don’t see any difference at all between the change from Ishii to Hudson."