Azerbaijan vs Lithuania

Azerbaijan snapped an eight-match run without a win, edging out Lithuania 1-0 at home in their UEFA Nations League League D clash. The hosts controlled the tempo from the start, dominating possession and testing the visitors' defense repeatedly before finally breaking through. The decisive moment came in the 25th minute, when Abdulla Khaybulayev finished calmly into the middle of the net after a pass from Toral Bayramov. Khaybulayev later picked up a yellow card and was initially shown a second for a challenge on Artur Dolzhnikov, which would have left Azerbaijan down to ten men, but VAR intervened and overturned the decision after ruling the Lithuanian had exaggerated the contact. Lithuania pushed hard after the break, forcing several sharp saves from the Azerbaijan goalkeeper and seeing an unmarked header drift just over the bar, while Armandas Kučys was sent off deep into stoppage time. The result lifts Azerbaijan to the top of their group, while Lithuania sees their earlier momentum, built on a prior 3-0 win, interrupted as they slip to second place.