Turkmenistan national team head coach Rovshan Meredov explained why the coaching staff did not discuss the risk of disqualification with the players before the match against Chinese Taipei (3:1), despite the fact that six players were at risk of missing the decisive match with Thailand.

Before the match, six players were at risk of disqualification: goalkeeper Rasul Charyev, defenders Mekan Saparov and Arzuvguli Sapargulyev, midfielders Teymur Charyev and Mirza Beknazarov, and team captain and forward Elman Tagayev. All had one yellow card, and if they received another yellow card, they would miss the match against Thailand on March 31, 2026, the outcome of which would determine their place in the final tournament.

"We knew we had six players on suspension. But we didn't worry about it. As we said, we have a game today, we'll prepare ourselves and field our best lineup. We won't play it safe by not fielding anyone," Meredov said at the post-match press conference.

The head coach emphasized that the coaching staff deliberately avoided drawing the players' attention to possible disqualifications. "We didn't even raise the issue, so as not to escalate the situation and keep the players from even thinking about it. We didn't even remind them. It was just that as the game progressed, yes, we had to remove someone from the game. We were at a stage where any foul, any misstep, could have resulted in a yellow card," the coach explained.

Meredov explained that the goalkeeper's choice wasn't motivated by a desire to protect Rasul Charyev from disqualification. Instead, his Arkadag teammate, Rustem Ahalliyev, started in goal for the first time in the qualifying tournament. "This answers the second question: why did Ahalliyev play? Because he's also a national team player, our goalkeeper. The coaching staff concluded that Rustem would start today. But there was no discussion whatsoever about yellow cards," the head coach emphasized.

"So, to be on the safe side, whether he gets it or not... Today's game was like a final for us. And we agreed at the pre-match press conference that we'd first think about one game—Chinese Taipei—and then about the other (Thailand – ed.). So, that's the principle we went into the game with. Yellow cards shouldn't be tied to lineup positions," Meredov added.

Remarkably, not a single Turkmenistan player received a yellow card during the match. Iraqi referee Yusif Hasan issued only one yellow card in the match – to Chinese Taipei player Tzu-Ming Huang.

The Turkmenistan national team defeated Chinese Taipei 3-1 in a home match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying tournament. The Turkmen team retained its lead in group D with 12 points, ahead of Thailand on additional criteria.

The decisive match between these teams will take place on March 31, 2026, in Thailand. The winner will advance to the final tournament, which will be held in Saudi Arabia. In the event of a draw, Turkmenistan will have the advantage thanks to a 3-1 home win.