Bulgaria national football team
The Bulgaria national football team (Bulgarian: Български национален отбор по футбол, romanized: Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol) represents Bulgaria in men's international football and is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA.
Nickname(s) | Лъвовете / Lavovete (The Lions) Трикольорите / Trikolyorite (The Tricolours) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Association | Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach | Mladen Krstajić | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Captain | Kiril Despodov | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Most caps | Stiliyan Petrov (105) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top scorer | Dimitar Berbatov Hristo Bonev (48) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home stadium | Various | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIFA code | BUL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIFA ranking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current | 71 1 (22 December 2022)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest | 8 (June 1995) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lowest | 96 (May 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First international | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Austria 6–0 Bulgaria (Vienna, Austria; 21 May 1924) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biggest win | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singapore 2–10 Bulgaria (Singapore; 13 December 1956)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biggest defeat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spain 13–0 Bulgaria (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances | 7 (first in 1962) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best result | Fourth place (1994) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances | 2 (first in 1996) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best result | Group stage (1996, 2004) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Bulgaria's best achievements are reaching the final at the 1968 Summer Olympics and the fourth place finish at the FIFA World Cup in 1994. Bulgaria have competed at a total of seven World Cups, debuting in 1962 and last appearing in 1998. In addition, they have participated in two European Championships, in 1996 and 2004. The team has also competed at the Balkan Cup, winning three titles. However, Bulgaria have failed to qualify for any major tournament since UEFA Euro 2004.
History
Early history
The Bulgarian national football team was formed in 1922. In 1923, the Bulgarian Football Union was formed and the team's first match was held in Vienna on 21 May 1924, which resulted in a 6–0 defeat against Austria.[6] Bulgaria also participated in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris a few days later.
Years of international wilderness
After being unable to compete in the 1930 World Cup, the Bulgarian side did not qualify for any major tournament for nearly 30 years, narrowly falling short of qualification on numerous occasions. The national team had gone on a streak of finishing 2nd or 3rd in their qualifying groups along with proceeding to the play-offs, but in the end, failing to qualify. Despite their qualifying problems, the national team did manage to defeat many elite teams during memorable international friendlies during those years. It also seemed as if the only tournaments they managed to qualify for were smaller tournaments, such as the Balkan Cup, which they won three times (1931, 1932 and 1973–76), thus being the competition's second most successful team only behind Romania with four titles.
1960s and 1970s
Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history in 1962 and followed that up with consecutive appearances in 1966, 1970 and 1974. The team, however, did not have much success and finished in third place in their group two out of the four times.
Bulgaria took part in qualifiers for the European Championship in 1968 and went on to win their group with impressive wins over Norway, Sweden, and Portugal. Although they would go on to lose to the eventual champions and hosts Italy in a two-legged qualifying play-off.
At the 1968 Summer Olympics, the team won the silver medal. They finished first in Group D by defeating Thailand 7–0, Guatemala 2–1, and drawing 2–2 against Czechoslovakia. They advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Israel and then the semi-finals by defeating favored hosts Mexico. In the Olympic Final, the team was defeated by Hungary, in what many would say was a hard-fought match for both sides.
Despite winning the Balkan Cup twice in 1931 and 1932, the Bulgaria national team added two more trophies to their case as they went on to win the tournament in 1973 and 1976. In both 1973 and 1976, Bulgaria had used their previous World Cup experience to create a very tactical team. This paid off quite well, as they had many decisive victories over Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Poland, Albania and Romania. In fact, the team won the 1976 Balkan Cup by beating Romania in the two-legged final 1–0 and 3–2.
1962 World Cup
Bulgaria finally qualified for their first World Cup in 1962. Bulgaria was drawn in a tough group with elite opponents in England, powerhouse Argentina and Hungary. Bulgaria opened up their campaign with a narrow 0–1 loss to Argentina. Later on, Bulgaria would lose their second group match by a 6–1 score to Hungary. Bulgaria's hopes of qualifying were over, but the national team impressively drew with future 1966 World Cup champions England 0–0 and finished fourth in the group with only one point.
1966 World Cup
Bulgaria qualified for their second straight World Cup, drawn into an even tougher group compared to the previous World Cup. They were placed in the group of death with superpowers Hungary, Portugal and Brazil, with Pelé at the helm. Bulgaria opened their campaign match with a 0–2 loss to Brazil thanks to two free kick goals by Pelé and Garrincha. In their second match Bulgaria loss 0–3 to Eusebio's Portugal. Finally, Bulgaria with no chance of advancing to the next round, finished their last match with a 1–3 loss to Hungary. Bulgaria once again finished fourth with zero points in the group.
Euro 1968 qualification
After their poor World Cup performance, Bulgaria was determined to redeem themselves. Bulgaria was drawn in a very tough group for qualifying, with Norway and Sweden, along with Eusebio's Portugal. Bulgaria started off with a 4–2 win over Norway. They would add to their winning streak with a 2–0 victory against Sweden. In their next two matches Bulgaria would draw 0–0 against Norway, and dominate Sweden 3–0. In their final two group fixtures Bulgaria played Portugal to a 1–0 victory at home and an 0–0 draw on the road, but it was enough to advance to the two-legged qualifying play-off. There Bulgaria were drawn against eventual Euro 1968 host Italy. Italy were defeated in the first leg 3–2, but won the second by a 0–2 score to advance 4–3 on aggregate. Italy would win the playoff and go on to win the tournament, while Bulgaria was eliminated from reaching the finals.
1968 Summer Olympics
A month and a half after the European Championship qualifying came the Olympics, which Bulgaria had qualified for the fifth time in their history. They were drawn in a simple group with Thailand, Guatemala and Czechoslovakia. Bulgaria started off with a 7–0 thrashing of Thailand. They later went on and drew with Czechoslovakia 2–2 to increase their point standards. Their final match once again determined if they would carry on to the quarter-finals. Needing a decisive win, Bulgaria went on to defeat Guatemala 2–1 and win their Olympic group. They qualified directly to the quarter-finals facing underdogs, Israel. The game remained 1–1 for most of the match until a drawing of lots determined who would go on to the semi-finals of the tournament. Winning the draw Bulgaria advanced to the semi-finals against Mexico. After a very hard-fought match, Bulgaria proved stronger as they came out on top with a 3–2 victory. Bulgaria advanced to the finals for the first time in their Olympic history. They were determined to win the gold medal, but fell short with a 1–4 loss to Hungary. Although battling hard, Bulgaria came out with the silver medal.
1970 World Cup
Bulgaria qualified for their third straight World Cup, held in Mexico, just like the 1968 Olympics. They were drawn in a very tricky group with Germany, Peru and Morocco. Bulgaria played their first match against Peru, losing 3–2. Germany won Bulgaria's second match, 5–2. The last group stage match ended 1–1; Bulgaria ended up in 3rd place.
1974 World Cup
The 1974 World Cup was held in West Germany. They were drawn in a decently tough group, with the Netherlands, Sweden and Uruguay. Bulgaria started off with a goalless draw with Sweden. They drew again, this time 1–1 with Uruguay. As the final match came, Bulgaria fell by a 4–1 score. Bulgaria remained in third place in the group stages.
1986 World Cup
Bulgaria qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico by finishing second in Group Four, behind France with 11 points, but ahead of powerful rivals Yugoslavia and East Germany. This was their fifth World Cup appearance. They were drawn in Group A with Italy, Argentina, and South Korea. In the opening match of the World Cup, the Bulgarians held the defending champions Italy to an impressive 1–1 draw. Alessandro Altobelli gave the Italians the lead, but an 85th-minute equalizer by Nasko Sirakov gave the Bulgarians the point they needed. The next match was another 1–1 draw against South Korea with the goal for Bulgaria coming from Plamen Getov in the 11th minute. They lost the final match of the group 2–0 against Argentina, who eventually won the tournament. Despite not recording a win, the Bulgarians advanced to the knockout stage by being the third-best third-placed team. By doing so, Bulgaria along with Uruguay became the first nations to qualify for the knockout stage without winning a game in the first round. In the Round of 16, they faced World Cup hosts Mexico, who were looking for revenge due to their previous home Olympic semi-final loss to Bulgaria in Mexico City in 1968. The match was hard-fought from both sides of the scale but ultimately, Mexico came away with the 2–0 win.
1994 World Cup
Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is 17 November 1993, a date on which Emil Kostadinov scored a deciding goal in the 90th minute to beat France in Paris, allowing Bulgaria to qualify for the World Cup in the United States in 1994. Under the management of Dimitar Penev, the Bulgarians, led by players such as Hristo Stoichkov, Yordan Lechkov, and Krasimir Balakov, along with a multitude of other talented players remembered in Bulgaria as the "Golden Generation", made a strong impression by surprisingly reaching the semi-finals. They entered a very tough Group D with 1990 World Cup runners-up Argentina with Diego Maradona at the helm, African Nations Cup champions Nigeria, and Balkan rivals Greece. The first match ended with a 3–0 defeat to Nigeria. Despite the bad start, the team made quite a huge statement by winning 4–0 against their Greece and increasing their goal difference. Their third and final match came against Argentina. The powerful Bulgarian side came away with a shocking 2–0 victory. Going into injury-time, Argentina was leading the group. A 91st-minute strike from Nasko Sirakov, however, meant that they'd drop two places and finish third.
Bulgaria continued to the round of 16, where they faced Mexico. Stoichkov opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an incredible strike off a break away from outside the box, tallying his fourth goal. The match ended 1–1 and after no goals were scored in extra time, penalties decided which team would go through. Team captain Borislav Mihaylov saved the first three penalty kicks in a row, breaking the World Cup record. Bulgaria won 3–1 on penalties. In the quarter-finals, Bulgaria faced the defending world champions Germany. At the start of the match held in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Bulgarians dominated impressively, hitting the post twice in the process, but eventually found themselves behind after Lothar Matthäus scored the opening goal for the Germans. The Bulgarians, however, managed to turn the game over with a swerving free kick by Hristo Stoichkov and a flying header by Yordan Lechkov, giving them a 2–1 win. In the semi-finals, they controversially lost 2–1 to Italy. Stoichkov scored Bulgaria's only goal in the first half to tally his seventh goal, which led the tournament. In the second half, Bulgaria were waved off on a non-penalty call in which an Italian defender had clearly committed a handball in the box, off a Kostadinov cross. Instead of playing in the final, it became a third place play-off. Bulgaria lost against Sweden 4–0, but the fourth-place finish was Bulgaria's best performance in history to that point.
Hristo Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot shared with Oleg Salenko as the top scorer in the tournament with his six goals. Krasimir Balakov was named in the 1994 World Cup Dream Team along with Stoichkov. Later on in December, Stoichkov was awarded the FIFA Ballon D'Or trophy for his great skill and leadership, becoming the first Bulgarian and third Barcelona player to win it in history.[citation needed]
Euro 1996
In 1996, the team qualified for the European Football Championship for the first time. They were drawn in Group B with France, Spain, and Romania. Bulgaria started with a 1–1 draw against the Spain. Stoichkov scored his second goal with a wonderful volley, ruled offside. Bulgaria defeated Romania 1–0 in the next group stage match. Stoichkov scored in the third minute. In the final group match, the Bulgarian side lost 3–1 against France; Stoichkov scored a free kick to give Bulgaria their only goal of the game, along with their only loss. At the same time, Spain defeated Romania 2–1, and Bulgaria were eliminated.
1998 World Cup
Bulgaria qualified for the 1998 World Cup in France by finishing first in Group 5, with decisive wins over Russia. They entered the competition with new manager Hristo Bonev. Bulgaria drew Spain, Nigeria, and Paraguay in Group D. The first match ended decently, in a goalless draw against eventual group runners up Paraguay. In the second match, the Bulgarians lost 1–0 for a second-straight World Cup to Nigeria. The final match ended with a 6–1 defeat to Spain. Following the bad results, Bulgaria finished fourth in the group, with only one point. This was the last World Cup appearance for Bulgaria.
Euro 2000 qualification
Bulgaria was drawn in a tough qualifying group with teams England, Sweden, and Poland. The campaign started slow with a draw and a defeat by Poland and Sweden. The most memorable match for Bulgaria in the group was the 1–1 draw against England, which was also the last match for Stoichkov before his international retirement. Bulgaria finished fourth with eight points and failed to make the final stages of Euro 2000.
2002 World Cup qualification
Bulgaria was once again drawn into a tough group with Denmark and Czech Republic. The group was also the debut of Bulgaria's top scoring legend Dimitar Berbatov. Bulgaria won the matches against the weaker teams, but lost once and drew once with both Denmark and the Czech Republic. Bulgaria finished third with 17 points, three points behind second-placed Czech Republic, thus failing to make the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Euro 2004
Bulgaria managed to qualify for the Euro 2004 in Portugal by finishing first with wins over Croatia and Belgium. They drew Sweden, Italy, and Denmark in Group C. All three group stage matches ended up in losses for Bulgaria, with Martin Petrov being the team's lone scorer in the country's 1–2 loss to Italy.
2006 World Cup qualification
Bulgaria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany after a run of poor results. They tied with Sweden and Croatia the first run but lost the other meetings to the two sides. Although Berbatov scored many goals in the qualifiers including a last-minute equalizer against Croatia, Bulgaria still finished third in qualifying with 15 points.
2006 Kirin Cup
Bulgaria found themselves in a minor tournament in Japan known as the Kirin Cup. They started off well with a 2–1 victory over the hosts Japan. However, Bulgaria lost 5–1 to Scotland, the eventual cup champions. Bulgaria finished as the runners-up and received the silver medal.
Euro 2008 qualification
Group G of Euro 2008 qualification had Netherlands, Romania, and Bulgaria attempting to qualify for Euro 2008, hosted by Switzerland and Austria. Bulgaria performed well after a run of good results against Romania which gave them the first place. Bulgaria finished third in the group falling short on one point behind the Netherlands.
2010 World Cup qualification
Bulgaria were drawn against Italy and Ireland in qualifying in Group 8. Bulgaria started the campaign with a series of draws. Manager Plamen Markov was replaced by Stanimir Stoilov in January 2009. The Bulgarians then recorded their first wins of the group over Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia. They finished in third place with 14 points, therefore failing to qualify to a play-off spot.
Euro 2012 qualification
Bulgaria were drawn in Group G along with England, Switzerland, Wales, and Montenegro. Bulgaria finished in last place in the group.
2014 World Cup qualification
In the qualification phase for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Bulgaria were placed in Group B together with the teams of Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic, Armenia and Malta. Under the guidance of former player Lyuboslav Penev as head coach, Bulgaria enjoyed a revival and some noteworthy performances in friendly matches before the start of the qualifying, including a 2–1 victory over 2010 World Cup runners-up Netherlands in Amsterdam. The qualifying began with a 2–2 draw against Euro 2012 runners-up Italy. Bulgaria then edged a tight match against Armenia, which ended 1–0. Next, Bulgaria drew 1–1 against Denmark. Four days later, Bulgaria earned a hard-fought 0–0 draw away to the Czech Republic. As a result, the team climbed from 96th in the FIFA World Rankings, their lowest position in history, to 40th in November 2012.
Penev's players hosted and defeated Malta 6–0 under heavy snowfall. Four days later, Bulgaria drew Denmark 1–1 in Copenhagen. This result left Bulgaria second in the group with 10 points, still undefeated. Bulgaria traveled to Italy, losing 1–0. After a series of poor results, Bulgaria ended up failing to qualify for Brazil 2014.
Euro 2016 qualification
Bulgaria were placed in a group with Italy, Croatia, Norway, Azerbaijan, and Malta. Bulgaria opened up their first match with a 2–1 victory over Azerbaijan. They were defeated 1–0 by Croatia, following another 2–1 defeat to Norway. To make it worse, Bulgaria drew with Malta 1–1 at home, which would cost manager Lyuboslav Penev his position. He was replaced by Ludogorets Razgrad manager Ivaylo Petev.
On his debut match, Petev's squad drew Romania 0-0; this later led to a 2–2 draw with Italy, which Bulgaria led until a last-minute Italian equalizer. Bulgaria defeated Malta 1–0 to edge two points ever closer to the third place playoff position. After a series of losses, Bulgaria failed to qualify for Euro 2016 in France despite a 2–0 defeat of Azerbaijan.
2018 World Cup qualification
Bulgaria were drawn in a strong World Cup qualification group with the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Belarus and Luxembourg. They began with a 4–3 win against Luxembourg at home.[7] This was followed by heavy losses to France (4–1) and Sweden (3–0).[8][9] In November 2016, the Lions beat Belarus in Sofia 1–0,[10] and then put up one of their best performances in recent years, beating the Netherlands 2–0 to move into third place in the group.[11] Bulgaria then beat the group leaders Sweden 3–2 in Sofia to move one point behind their opponents in the table.[12] However, they lost the match against the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena 3–1. A 1–0 defeat at home to France and a 1–1 draw in Luxembourg ended their chances of qualifying.[13]
Euro 2020 qualification and Nations League
Bulgaria were drawn in UEFA Nations League C with Norway, Slovenia and Cyprus. Bulgaria opened up the campaign with a 2–1 win over Slovenia and a clean sheet against Norway. The Norwegians eventually avenged their loss to Bulgaria, resulting in a tie for first place. Bulgaria eventually closed out the second round of games with two 1–1 draws against Slovenia and Cyprus, resulting in a second-place finish.
Bulgaria was drawn in Group A with England, Czech Republic, Montenegro and Kosovo. The team began the qualifying campaign with a 1–1 home draw against Montenegro and a 1–1 away draw to Kosovo while losing three major players due to injuries.[14] They later carried on with two more losses which sparked the end of their group campaign. Despite finishing in fourth place, the national side had one more opportunity to qualify for the Euros thanks to the good performance in the Nations League. It sent Bulgaria to the Path A qualifying play-offs, which also included Hungary, Iceland and Romania.
The draw put Bulgaria against Hungary in their first play-off match on their quest to qualify for a major competition since 2004. However, in front of limited number of home fans, Bulgaria fell 1–3 to Hungary, and was eliminated from the tournament.[15][16]
2020−21 Nations League
After appointing Georgi Dermendzhiev as their new head coach, Bulgaria began their brief promotion in League B. Being drawn into Group 4 with Wales, Finland and Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria played its first match against Ireland. A near victory for the Bulgarians until a 90th minute injury time equalizer sealed the draw for the Irish.[17] Bulgaria would then play away to Wales, where they held the hosts leveled 0–0 until another 90th minute injury time goal that resulted in 0–1 loss. The problems would continue with another set of narrow losses to Finland and Wales, forcing Bulgaria to miss out on promotion to League A. With two more matches left, Bulgaria finished winless against Finland and Ireland, relegating the Lions to League C.
2022 World Cup qualification
Yasen Petrov was hired as the coach prior to the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. Bulgaria began the campaign horribly, losing at home 1–3 to Switzerland and 0–2 to Italy. The team somewhat improved in the next two games, drawing away at Northern Ireland and Italy, the reigning European champions. Bulgaria then beat Lithuania 1–0 at home, but lost 1–3 away against the same team, ending their hopes for qualification. A 2–1 home win against Northern Ireland was only a brief moment of rejoice before a heavy 0–4 defeat to Switzerland ended a largely miserable attempt for qualifying.
2022–23 UEFA Nations League
Bulgaria was allocated to League C for the League of Nations season, after relegation from the previous edition. Bulgaria's opponents were drawn to be North Macedonia, Georgia and Gibraltar. The campaign began with a 1–1 draw against North Macedonia at home, followed by a heavy 2–5 loss against Georgia at home. Yasen Petrov handed his resignation following the game. Georgi Ivanov was appointed as interim manager for the next two games against Gibraltar and Georgia. Another shameful performance followed, when the Lions drew 1–1 in Gibraltar, which was one of only few times that the Gibraltar national team had not lost a competitive game in its history. In Georgia, Bulgaria drew 0–0, extending the winless streak to four games. During the one month pause of the tournament, Serbian Mladen Krstajić was appointed as manager. Under his reins, Bulgaria recorded two wins against Gibraltar at home and North Macedonia away, eventually finishing second in the group. The game against North Macedonia was particularly intense, due to rising political tensions between the two countries at that time. The Bulgarian national anthem was heavily booed, followed by multiple provocations from both Macedonian fans and players aimed at the Bulgarian team.
Team image
Bulgaria's traditional colours are white, green and red, taken from the colours of the country's flag. This tricolour is reflected through the use of white shirts, green shorts, and red socks. The team's away kits have usually been red.
Their nickname is The Lions, in tribute of the lions represented in the coat of arms of Bulgaria.
Ultras and controversy
In recent years, ultras of the Bulgarian team have developed a reputation for racism. After racist chanting and monkey noises directed at Ashley Young, Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott during a qualifier for Euro 2012, the Bulgarian Football Union was fined €40,000 by UEFA.[18] The BFU denied that racism would be an issue during Euro 2020 qualifiers, claiming that the issue was worse in England.[19] Nevertheless, Bulgarian ultras were accused of racist chants during their matches against Czech Republic, Kosovo and England. As a result, part of the Bulgarian stadium was closed off for the match against England (October 2019), and officials twice halted the game under the UEFA anti-racism protocol.[20] In the following days since the match took place, Bulgarian police identified 15 fans they suspected were responsible for subjecting black English players including Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Tyrone Mings to racist abuse, arresting six of them.[21]
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin condemned the alleged abuse calling on the "football family and governments" to "wage war on the racists".[22] Disciplinary proceedings have been launched against both Bulgaria and England.[23]
Home stadium
Traditionally, the Bulgarian national football team's home stadium is the Vasil Levski National Stadium with a capacity of 44,000. Vasil Levski was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002. It is the second largest stadium in Bulgaria, behind the Plovdiv Stadium with a capacity of 55,000. During the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, the stadium was used for Levski Sofia matches with Barcelona, Chelsea, and Werder Bremen. Similarly, Ludogorets Razgrad used it as their main home venue for their European matches until the 2017–18 season. The Bulgarian national team's home matches and the Bulgarian Cup finals are held at the venue, as well as athletics competitions.
Lately, the national team is playing its home matches at the Huvepharma Arena in Razgrad, home of 11-time Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. Opened in 1954 and renovated in 2011, the stadium has a capacity of 10,422.
Vasil Levski National Stadium
Huvepharma Arena
Results and fixtures
Win Draw Loss
2022
2 June UEFA Nations League | Bulgaria | 1–1 | North Macedonia | Razgrad, Bulgaria |
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) |
| Report |
| Stadium: Huvepharma Arena Attendance: 8,275 Referee: Jérémie Pignard (France) |
5 June UEFA Nations League | Bulgaria | 2–5 | Georgia | Razgrad, Bulgaria |
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) | Report |
| Stadium: Huvepharma Arena Attendance: 3,600 Referee: Fabio Maresca (Italy) |
9 June UEFA Nations League | Gibraltar | 1–1 | Bulgaria | Gibraltar |
20:45 | Report |
| Stadium: Victoria Stadium Attendance: 1,427 Referee: Petri Viljanen (Finland) |
12 June UEFA Nations League | Georgia | 0–0 | Bulgaria | Tbilisi, Georgia |
18:00 (20:00 UTC+4) | Report | Stadium: Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena Attendance: 54,200 Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway) |
23 September UEFA Nations League | Bulgaria | 5–1 | Gibraltar | Razgrad, Bulgaria |
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) | Report |
| Stadium: Huvepharma Arena Attendance: 1,540 Referee: Pavel Orel (Czech Republic) |
26 September UEFA Nations League | North Macedonia | 0–1 | Bulgaria | Skopje, North Macedonia |
20:45 | Report |
| Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena Attendance: 20,173 Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria) |
20 November Friendly | Luxembourg | 0–0 | Bulgaria | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |
15:00 | Report | Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg Attendance: 4,700 Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania) |
2023
24 March UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Bulgaria | 0–1 | Montenegro | Razgrad, Bulgaria |
19:00 UTC+2 | Report |
| Stadium: Huvepharma Arena Attendance: 9,234 Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan) |
27 March UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Hungary | 3–0 | Bulgaria | Budapest, Hungary |
21:45 UTC+2 |
| Report | Stadium: Puskás Aréna Attendance: 53,000 Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey) |
17 June UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Lithuania | v | Bulgaria | Kaunas, Lithuania |
16:00 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium |
20 June UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Bulgaria | v | Serbia | Razgrad, Bulgaria |
21:45 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Huvepharma Arena |
10 September UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Montenegro | v | Bulgaria | Montenegro |
19:00 UTC+3 | Report |
14 October UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Bulgaria | v | Lithuania | Bulgaria |
19:00 UTC+3 | Report |
16 November UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Bulgaria | v | Hungary | Bulgaria |
21:45 UTC+2 | Report |
19 November UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Serbia | v | Bulgaria | Serbia |
16:00 UTC+2 | Report |
Coaching staff
Role | Name |
---|---|
Head Coach | Mladen Krstajić |
Assistant Coach | Stefan Janković |
Assistant Coach | Nemanja Milinčić |
Assistant Coach | Ivan Ivanov |
Goalkeeping Coach | Darko Božović |
Coach Analyst | Krsto Jokić |
Analyst | Nikola Janjić |
Sports Scientist | Marko Stojanović |
Fitness Coach | Svetlin Spasov |
Recovery Coach | Nikola Izpoldzhiyski |
GPS Analyst | Vladimir Grozdanov |
Doctor | Zdravko Taralov |
Coaching history
- Leopold Nitsch (1922–1924)
- Willibald Stejskal (1925–1926)
- Pavel Grozdanov (1927–1930)
- Carl Nemes (1930–1931)
- Otto Feist (1931–1932)
- Pavel Grozdanov (1932–1933)
- Károly Fogl (1934–1935)
- Nikola Kalkandzhiev (1935–1936)
- Ivan Batandzhiev (1936)
- Geno Mateev (1936–1937)
- Stanislav Toms (1937–1938)
- Kostantin Maznikov (1938–1939)
- Ivan Radoev (1939–1940)
- Franz Köhler (1940–1941)
- Ivan Radoev (1941–1942)
- Ivan Batandzhiev (1943–1945)
- Todor Konov (1945–1946)
- Mihail Manov (1947)
- Ivan Radoev (1947)
- Rezső Somlai (1947–1948)
- Lubomir Angelov (1948)
- Andor Hajdú (1948–1949)
- Ivan Radoev (1950)
- Lubomir Angelov (1950)
- Andor Hajdú (1950)
- Lubomir Angelov (1950–1953)
- Stoyan Ormandzhiev (1950–1953)
- Krum Milev (1954–1960)
- Georgi Pachedzhiev (1955–1962)
- Stoyan Ormandzhiev (1963)
- Béla Volentik (1963–1965)
- Rudolf Vytlačil (1965–1966)
- Dobromir Tashkov (1966–1967)
- Stefan Bozhkov (1967–1970)
- Vasil Spasov (1970–1972)
- Hristo Mladenov (1972–1974)
- Stoyan Ormandzhiev (1974–1977)
- Tsvetan Ilchev (1978–1980)
- Atanas Purzhelov (1980–1982)
- Ivan Vutsov (1982–1986)
- Hristo Mladenov (1986–1987)
- Boris Angelov (1988–1989)
- Ivan Vutsov (1989–1991)
- Dimitar Penev (1991–1996)
- Hristo Bonev (1996–1998)
- Dimitar Dimitrov (1998–1999)
- Stoycho Mladenov (2000–2001)
- Plamen Markov (2002–2004)
- Hristo Stoichkov (2004–2007)
- Stanimir Stoilov (2007)
- Dimitar Penev (2007)
- Plamen Markov (2007–2008)
- Stanimir Stoilov (2009–2010)
- Lothar Matthäus (2010–2011)
- Mihail Madanski (2011)
- Lyuboslav Penev (2011–2014)
- Ivaylo Petev (2015–2016)
- Petar Hubchev (2016–2019)
- Krasimir Balakov (2019)
- Georgi Dermendzhiev (2019–2020)
- Yasen Petrov (2021–2022)
- Georgi Ivanov (2022)
- Mladen Krstajić (2022−)
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying games against Montenegro and Hungary on 24 and 27 March 2023.[24]
Caps and goals as of 27 March 2023, after the match against Hungary.[25][26]
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Bulgarian squad within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Nikolay Mihaylov | 28 June 1988 | 46 | 0 | Levski Sofia | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
DF | Dimo Krastev | 10 February 2003 | 1 | 0 | Fiorentina | v. Montenegro, 24 March 2023INJ |
DF | Ivan Turitsov | 18 July 1999 | 15 | 0 | CSKA Sofia | v. Luxembourg, 20 November 2022 |
DF | Dimitar Velkovski | 22 January 1995 | 9 | 0 | Miedź Legnica | v. Luxembourg, 20 November 2022 |
DF | Mateo Stamatov | 22 March 1999 | 0 | 0 | Orenburg | v. Luxembourg, 20 November 2022 |
DF | Andrea Hristov | 1 March 1999 | 14 | 1 | Reggiana | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
DF | Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski | 8 August 1995 | 11 | 0 | Widzew Łódź | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
DF | Edisson Jordanov | 8 June 1993 | 5 | 0 | Westerlo | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
DF | Vasil Bozhikov (3rd captain) | 2 June 1988 | 38 | 2 | Unattached | v. Croatia, 29 March 2022 |
DF | Kristian Dimitrov | 27 February 1997 | 14 | 1 | Levski Sofia | v. Croatia, 29 March 2022 |
DF | Miki Orachev | 19 March 1996 | 1 | 0 | Lokomotiv Sofia | v. Croatia, 29 March 2022 |
MF | Iliyan Stefanov | 20 September 1998 | 6 | 2 | Levski Sofia | v. Montenegro, 24 March 2023INJ |
MF | Dominik Yankov | 28 July 2000 | 15 | 0 | Ludogorets Razgrad | v. Montenegro, 24 March 2023INJ |
MF | Georgi Milanov | 19 February 1992 | 47 | 2 | Al Dhafra | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
MF | Todor Nedelev | 7 February 1993 | 44 | 5 | Ludogorets Razgrad | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
MF | Georgi Kostadinov | 7 September 1990 | 37 | 3 | APOEL | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
MF | Ivaylo Chochev | 18 February 1993 | 35 | 4 | CSKA 1948 | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
MF | Kristiyan Malinov | 30 March 1994 | 29 | 0 | OH Leuven | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
MF | Andrian Kraev | 14 February 1999 | 2 | 0 | Levski Sofia | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
MF | Borislav Tsonev | 29 April 1995 | 5 | 0 | Dalian Professional | v. Croatia, 29 March 2022 |
FW | Atanas Iliev | 9 October 1994 | 16 | 3 | Cherno More | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
FW | Georgi YomovSUS | 6 July 1997 | 10 | 2 | CSKA Sofia | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
FW | Georgi Minchev | 20 April 1995 | 9 | 1 | Riga | v. Georgia, 12 June 2022 |
INJ Player withdrew from the current squad due to injury. |
Player records
- As of 28 March 2021[27]
- Players in bold text are still active with Bulgaria.
Most appearances
Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stiliyan Petrov | 105 | 8 | 1998–2013 |
2 | Borislav Mihaylov | 102 | 0 | 1983–1998 |
3 | Hristo Bonev | 96 | 48 | 1967–1979 |
4 | Krasimir Balakov | 92 | 16 | 1988–2003 |
5 | Dimitar Penev | 90 | 2 | 1965–1974 |
Ivelin Popov | 90 | 18 | 2007–2019 | |
7 | Martin Petrov | 89 | 19 | 1999–2013 |
8 | Radostin Kishishev | 88 | 1 | 1996–2009 |
9 | Hristo Stoichkov | 83 | 37 | 1986–1999 |
10 | Ayan Sadakov | 80 | 9 | 1981–1991 |
Zlatko Yankov | 80 | 4 | 1989–1999 |
Top goalscorers
Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Average | Career |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dimitar Berbatov | 48 | 78 | 0.62 | 1999–2010 |
Hristo Bonev | 48 | 96 | 0.5 | 1967–1979 | |
3 | Hristo Stoichkov | 37 | 83 | 0.46 | 1987–1999 |
4 | Emil Kostadinov | 27 | 70 | 0.39 | 1988–1998 |
5 | Lyubomir Angelov | 26 | 44 | 0.59 | 1931–1940 |
6 | Petar Zhekov | 25 | 44 | 0.57 | 1963–1972 |
Ivan Kolev | 25 | 75 | 0.33 | 1950–1963 | |
8 | Nasko Sirakov | 24 | 78 | 0.31 | 1983–1996 |
9 | Atanas Mihaylov | 23 | 45 | 0.51 | 1970–1981 |
10 | Dimitar Milanov | 20 | 39 | 0.51 | 1948–1959 |
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
1930 | Did not enter | Declined invitation | |||||||||||||||
1934 | Did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | ||||||||||
1938 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||||
1950 | Did not enter | Declined participation | |||||||||||||||
1954 | Did not qualify | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||
1958 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 | |||||||||||
1962 | Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | Squad | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | ||
1966 | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | Squad | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 | |||
1970 | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Squad | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | |||
1974 | 12th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Squad | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 3 | |||
1978 | Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||
1982 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | |||||||||||
1986 | Round of 16 | 15th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Squad | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 5 | ||
1990 | Did not qualify | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||||||||||
1994 | Fourth place | 4th | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 11 | Squad | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 10 | ||
1998 | Group stage | 29th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | Squad | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 9 | ||
2002 | Did not qualify | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 15 | ||||||||||
2006 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 17 | |||||||||||
2010 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 13 | |||||||||||
2014 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 9 | |||||||||||
2018 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 19 | |||||||||||
2022 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | |||||||||||
2026 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
Total | Fourth place | 7/22 | 26 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 22 | 53 | — | 137 | 62 | 29 | 46 | 215 | 191 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record | Qualifying record | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
1960 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
1964 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||||
1968 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | |||||||||||
1972 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | |||||||||||
1976 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 7 | |||||||||||
1980 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | |||||||||||
1984 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||
1988 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6 | |||||||||||
1992 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 8 | |||||||||||
1996 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Squad | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 10 | ||
2000 | Did not qualify | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||||||||||
2004 | Group stage | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | Squad | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | ||
2008 | Did not qualify | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 7 | ||||||||||
2012 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 13 | |||||||||||
2016 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 12 | |||||||||||
2020 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 20 | |||||||||||
2024 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
Total | Group stage | 2/16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | — | 122 | 50 | 29 | 43 | 164 | 140 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Division | Group | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | P/R | RK |
2018–19 | C | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 29th | |
2020–21 | B | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 31st | |
2022–23 | C | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 40th | |
2024–25 | C | To be determined | ||||||||
Total | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 20 | 29th |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Olympic Games
Olympic Games record | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
1908 | Did not enter | ||||||||
1912 | |||||||||
1920 | |||||||||
1924 | Round of 16 | 12th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Squad |
1928 | Did not enter | ||||||||
1936 | |||||||||
1948 | |||||||||
1952 | Round of 16 | 13th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Squad |
1956 | Bronze medal | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | Squad |
1960 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | Squad |
1964 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
1968 | Silver medal | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 10 | Squad |
1972 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
1976 | |||||||||
1980 | |||||||||
1984 | |||||||||
1988 | |||||||||
Since 1992 | Olympic football has been an under-23 tournament | ||||||||
Total | 1 Silver medal | 5/17 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 19 | — |
Balkan Cup
Balkan Cup record | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1929–31 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 19 | |
1931 | Champions | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | |
1932 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
1933 | Third place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | |
1934–35 | Fourth place | 4th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | |
1935 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | |
1936 | Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | |
1946 | Fourth place | 4th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |
1947 | Fourth place | 4th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 14 | |
1948* | Group stage | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | |
1973–76 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 9 | |
1977–80 | Group stage | 3rd | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
Total | 3 Titles | 12/12 | 42 | 18 | 4 | 20 | 81 | 99 |
- *Competition abandoned with Bulgaria in third place.
Head-to-head record
As of 27 March 2023 after the match against Hungary.[28]
Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record
Opponents | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 10 | +7 |
Algeria | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 |
Andorra | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
Argentina | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 18 | −12 |
Armenia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Australia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 |
Austria | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 21 | −14 |
Azerbaijan | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 |
Belarus | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 7 | +5 |
Belgium | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 23 | −3 |
Bolivia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Brazil | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 19 | −17 |
Cameroon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Chile | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 |
Croatia | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 18 | −12 |
Cuba | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 |
Cyprus | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 10 | +26 |
Czech Republic[a] | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 34 | −10 |
Denmark | 16 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 21 | −1 |
East Germany | 23 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 30 | +1 |
Ecuador | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 |
Egypt | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 |
England | 12 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 26 | −24 |
Estonia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
Finland | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 7 | +13 |
France | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 26 | 41 | −15 |
Georgia | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 12 | +9 |
Germany[b] | 24 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 28 | 62 | −34 |
Ghana | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 |
Gibraltar | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 |
Greece | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 48 | 35 | +13 |
Guatemala | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
Hungary | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 38 | 77 | −39 |
Iceland | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 7 | +5 |
India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Israel | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 |
Italy | 23 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 42 | −23 |
Jamaica | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Japan | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 10 | +3 |
Jordan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
Kazakhstan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
Kosovo | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 |
Kuwait | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 |
Latvia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 |
Lebanon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 |
Lithuania | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 |
Luxembourg | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 9 | +30 |
bulgaria, national, football, team, this, article, about, team, women, team, bulgaria, women, national, football, team, bulgarian, Български, национален, отбор, по, футбол, romanized, bǎlgarski, natsionalen, otbor, futbol, represents, bulgaria, international, . This article is about the men s team For the women s team see Bulgaria women s national football team The Bulgaria national football team Bulgarian Blgarski nacionalen otbor po futbol romanized Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol represents Bulgaria in men s international football and is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union a member association of UEFA BulgariaNickname s Lvovete Lavovete The Lions Trikolorite Trikolyorite The Tricolours AssociationBulgarian Football Union BFU ConfederationUEFA Europe Head coachMladen KrstajicCaptainKiril DespodovMost capsStiliyan Petrov 105 Top scorerDimitar BerbatovHristo Bonev 48 Home stadiumVariousFIFA codeBULFirst coloursSecond coloursFIFA rankingCurrent71 1 22 December 2022 1 Highest8 June 1995 Lowest96 May 2012 First international Austria 6 0 Bulgaria Vienna Austria 21 May 1924 Biggest win Singapore 2 10 Bulgaria Singapore 13 December 1956 2 Biggest defeat Spain 13 0 Bulgaria Madrid Spain 21 May 1933 World CupAppearances7 first in 1962 Best resultFourth place 1994 European ChampionshipAppearances2 first in 1996 Best resultGroup stage 1996 2004 Medal record World Cup1994 United States 4 TeamOlympic Games1968 Mexico City Team1956 Melbourne TeamBalkan Cup1931 Bulgaria Team1932 Yugoslavia Team1973 76 Europe Team1935 Bulgaria Team1936 Romania Team1933 Romania TeamBulgaria s best achievements are reaching the final at the 1968 Summer Olympics and the fourth place finish at the FIFA World Cup in 1994 Bulgaria have competed at a total of seven World Cups debuting in 1962 and last appearing in 1998 In addition they have participated in two European Championships in 1996 and 2004 The team has also competed at the Balkan Cup winning three titles However Bulgaria have failed to qualify for any major tournament since UEFA Euro 2004 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1 1 1 Years of international wilderness 1 2 1960s and 1970s 1 3 1962 World Cup 1 4 1966 World Cup 1 5 Euro 1968 qualification 1 6 1968 Summer Olympics 1 7 1970 World Cup 1 8 1974 World Cup 1 9 1986 World Cup 1 10 1994 World Cup 1 11 Euro 1996 1 12 1998 World Cup 1 13 Euro 2000 qualification 1 14 2002 World Cup qualification 1 15 Euro 2004 1 16 2006 World Cup qualification 1 17 2006 Kirin Cup 1 18 Euro 2008 qualification 1 19 2010 World Cup qualification 1 20 Euro 2012 qualification 1 21 2014 World Cup qualification 1 22 Euro 2016 qualification 1 23 2018 World Cup qualification 1 24 Euro 2020 qualification and Nations League 1 25 2020 21 Nations League 1 26 2022 World Cup qualification 1 27 2022 23 UEFA Nations League 2 Team image 2 1 Colours 2 2 Kit sponsorship 2 3 Ultras and controversy 3 Home stadium 4 Results and fixtures 4 1 2022 4 2 2023 5 Coaching staff 5 1 Coaching history 6 Players 6 1 Current squad 6 2 Recent call ups 7 Player records 7 1 Most appearances 7 2 Top goalscorers 8 Competitive record 8 1 FIFA World Cup 8 2 UEFA European Championship 8 3 UEFA Nations League 8 4 Olympic Games 8 5 Balkan Cup 9 Head to head record 10 Ranking history 11 Honours 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External linksHistory EditEarly history Edit The Bulgarian national football team was formed in 1922 In 1923 the Bulgarian Football Union was formed and the team s first match was held in Vienna on 21 May 1924 which resulted in a 6 0 defeat against Austria 6 Bulgaria also participated in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris a few days later Years of international wilderness Edit After being unable to compete in the 1930 World Cup the Bulgarian side did not qualify for any major tournament for nearly 30 years narrowly falling short of qualification on numerous occasions The national team had gone on a streak of finishing 2nd or 3rd in their qualifying groups along with proceeding to the play offs but in the end failing to qualify Despite their qualifying problems the national team did manage to defeat many elite teams during memorable international friendlies during those years It also seemed as if the only tournaments they managed to qualify for were smaller tournaments such as the Balkan Cup which they won three times 1931 1932 and 1973 76 thus being the competition s second most successful team only behind Romania with four titles 1960s and 1970s Edit Bulgaria vs Sweden 0 0 1974 FIFA World Cup Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history in 1962 and followed that up with consecutive appearances in 1966 1970 and 1974 The team however did not have much success and finished in third place in their group two out of the four times Bulgaria took part in qualifiers for the European Championship in 1968 and went on to win their group with impressive wins over Norway Sweden and Portugal Although they would go on to lose to the eventual champions and hosts Italy in a two legged qualifying play off At the 1968 Summer Olympics the team won the silver medal They finished first in Group D by defeating Thailand 7 0 Guatemala 2 1 and drawing 2 2 against Czechoslovakia They advanced to the quarter finals by defeating Israel and then the semi finals by defeating favored hosts Mexico In the Olympic Final the team was defeated by Hungary in what many would say was a hard fought match for both sides Despite winning the Balkan Cup twice in 1931 and 1932 the Bulgaria national team added two more trophies to their case as they went on to win the tournament in 1973 and 1976 In both 1973 and 1976 Bulgaria had used their previous World Cup experience to create a very tactical team This paid off quite well as they had many decisive victories over Hungary Greece Turkey Yugoslavia Poland Albania and Romania In fact the team won the 1976 Balkan Cup by beating Romania in the two legged final 1 0 and 3 2 1962 World Cup Edit Bulgaria finally qualified for their first World Cup in 1962 Bulgaria was drawn in a tough group with elite opponents in England powerhouse Argentina and Hungary Bulgaria opened up their campaign with a narrow 0 1 loss to Argentina Later on Bulgaria would lose their second group match by a 6 1 score to Hungary Bulgaria s hopes of qualifying were over but the national team impressively drew with future 1966 World Cup champions England 0 0 and finished fourth in the group with only one point 1966 World Cup Edit Bulgaria qualified for their second straight World Cup drawn into an even tougher group compared to the previous World Cup They were placed in the group of death with superpowers Hungary Portugal and Brazil with Pele at the helm Bulgaria opened their campaign match with a 0 2 loss to Brazil thanks to two free kick goals by Pele and Garrincha In their second match Bulgaria loss 0 3 to Eusebio s Portugal Finally Bulgaria with no chance of advancing to the next round finished their last match with a 1 3 loss to Hungary Bulgaria once again finished fourth with zero points in the group Euro 1968 qualification Edit After their poor World Cup performance Bulgaria was determined to redeem themselves Bulgaria was drawn in a very tough group for qualifying with Norway and Sweden along with Eusebio s Portugal Bulgaria started off with a 4 2 win over Norway They would add to their winning streak with a 2 0 victory against Sweden In their next two matches Bulgaria would draw 0 0 against Norway and dominate Sweden 3 0 In their final two group fixtures Bulgaria played Portugal to a 1 0 victory at home and an 0 0 draw on the road but it was enough to advance to the two legged qualifying play off There Bulgaria were drawn against eventual Euro 1968 host Italy Italy were defeated in the first leg 3 2 but won the second by a 0 2 score to advance 4 3 on aggregate Italy would win the playoff and go on to win the tournament while Bulgaria was eliminated from reaching the finals 1968 Summer Olympics Edit A month and a half after the European Championship qualifying came the Olympics which Bulgaria had qualified for the fifth time in their history They were drawn in a simple group with Thailand Guatemala and Czechoslovakia Bulgaria started off with a 7 0 thrashing of Thailand They later went on and drew with Czechoslovakia 2 2 to increase their point standards Their final match once again determined if they would carry on to the quarter finals Needing a decisive win Bulgaria went on to defeat Guatemala 2 1 and win their Olympic group They qualified directly to the quarter finals facing underdogs Israel The game remained 1 1 for most of the match until a drawing of lots determined who would go on to the semi finals of the tournament Winning the draw Bulgaria advanced to the semi finals against Mexico After a very hard fought match Bulgaria proved stronger as they came out on top with a 3 2 victory Bulgaria advanced to the finals for the first time in their Olympic history They were determined to win the gold medal but fell short with a 1 4 loss to Hungary Although battling hard Bulgaria came out with the silver medal 1970 World Cup Edit Bulgaria qualified for their third straight World Cup held in Mexico just like the 1968 Olympics They were drawn in a very tricky group with Germany Peru and Morocco Bulgaria played their first match against Peru losing 3 2 Germany won Bulgaria s second match 5 2 The last group stage match ended 1 1 Bulgaria ended up in 3rd place 1974 World Cup Edit The 1974 World Cup was held in West Germany They were drawn in a decently tough group with the Netherlands Sweden and Uruguay Bulgaria started off with a goalless draw with Sweden They drew again this time 1 1 with Uruguay As the final match came Bulgaria fell by a 4 1 score Bulgaria remained in third place in the group stages 1986 World Cup Edit Bulgaria qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico by finishing second in Group Four behind France with 11 points but ahead of powerful rivals Yugoslavia and East Germany This was their fifth World Cup appearance They were drawn in Group A with Italy Argentina and South Korea In the opening match of the World Cup the Bulgarians held the defending champions Italy to an impressive 1 1 draw Alessandro Altobelli gave the Italians the lead but an 85th minute equalizer by Nasko Sirakov gave the Bulgarians the point they needed The next match was another 1 1 draw against South Korea with the goal for Bulgaria coming from Plamen Getov in the 11th minute They lost the final match of the group 2 0 against Argentina who eventually won the tournament Despite not recording a win the Bulgarians advanced to the knockout stage by being the third best third placed team By doing so Bulgaria along with Uruguay became the first nations to qualify for the knockout stage without winning a game in the first round In the Round of 16 they faced World Cup hosts Mexico who were looking for revenge due to their previous home Olympic semi final loss to Bulgaria in Mexico City in 1968 The match was hard fought from both sides of the scale but ultimately Mexico came away with the 2 0 win Hristo Stoichkov won the Ballon D Or World and European Golden Boots in 1994 He led Bulgaria to the semi finals of the 1994 World Cup along with leading Barcelona to their first ever UEFA Champions League in 1992 1994 World Cup Edit Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is 17 November 1993 a date on which Emil Kostadinov scored a deciding goal in the 90th minute to beat France in Paris allowing Bulgaria to qualify for the World Cup in the United States in 1994 Under the management of Dimitar Penev the Bulgarians led by players such as Hristo Stoichkov Yordan Lechkov and Krasimir Balakov along with a multitude of other talented players remembered in Bulgaria as the Golden Generation made a strong impression by surprisingly reaching the semi finals They entered a very tough Group D with 1990 World Cup runners up Argentina with Diego Maradona at the helm African Nations Cup champions Nigeria and Balkan rivals Greece The first match ended with a 3 0 defeat to Nigeria Despite the bad start the team made quite a huge statement by winning 4 0 against their Greece and increasing their goal difference Their third and final match came against Argentina The powerful Bulgarian side came away with a shocking 2 0 victory Going into injury time Argentina was leading the group A 91st minute strike from Nasko Sirakov however meant that they d drop two places and finish third Bulgaria continued to the round of 16 where they faced Mexico Stoichkov opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an incredible strike off a break away from outside the box tallying his fourth goal The match ended 1 1 and after no goals were scored in extra time penalties decided which team would go through Team captain Borislav Mihaylov saved the first three penalty kicks in a row breaking the World Cup record Bulgaria won 3 1 on penalties In the quarter finals Bulgaria faced the defending world champions Germany At the start of the match held in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey the Bulgarians dominated impressively hitting the post twice in the process but eventually found themselves behind after Lothar Matthaus scored the opening goal for the Germans The Bulgarians however managed to turn the game over with a swerving free kick by Hristo Stoichkov and a flying header by Yordan Lechkov giving them a 2 1 win In the semi finals they controversially lost 2 1 to Italy Stoichkov scored Bulgaria s only goal in the first half to tally his seventh goal which led the tournament In the second half Bulgaria were waved off on a non penalty call in which an Italian defender had clearly committed a handball in the box off a Kostadinov cross Instead of playing in the final it became a third place play off Bulgaria lost against Sweden 4 0 but the fourth place finish was Bulgaria s best performance in history to that point Hristo Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot shared with Oleg Salenko as the top scorer in the tournament with his six goals Krasimir Balakov was named in the 1994 World Cup Dream Team along with Stoichkov Later on in December Stoichkov was awarded the FIFA Ballon D Or trophy for his great skill and leadership becoming the first Bulgarian and third Barcelona player to win it in history citation needed Euro 1996 Edit In 1996 the team qualified for the European Football Championship for the first time They were drawn in Group B with France Spain and Romania Bulgaria started with a 1 1 draw against the Spain Stoichkov scored his second goal with a wonderful volley ruled offside Bulgaria defeated Romania 1 0 in the next group stage match Stoichkov scored in the third minute In the final group match the Bulgarian side lost 3 1 against France Stoichkov scored a free kick to give Bulgaria their only goal of the game along with their only loss At the same time Spain defeated Romania 2 1 and Bulgaria were eliminated 1998 World Cup Edit Bulgaria qualified for the 1998 World Cup in France by finishing first in Group 5 with decisive wins over Russia They entered the competition with new manager Hristo Bonev Bulgaria drew Spain Nigeria and Paraguay in Group D The first match ended decently in a goalless draw against eventual group runners up Paraguay In the second match the Bulgarians lost 1 0 for a second straight World Cup to Nigeria The final match ended with a 6 1 defeat to Spain Following the bad results Bulgaria finished fourth in the group with only one point This was the last World Cup appearance for Bulgaria Euro 2000 qualification Edit Bulgaria was drawn in a tough qualifying group with teams England Sweden and Poland The campaign started slow with a draw and a defeat by Poland and Sweden The most memorable match for Bulgaria in the group was the 1 1 draw against England which was also the last match for Stoichkov before his international retirement Bulgaria finished fourth with eight points and failed to make the final stages of Euro 2000 2002 World Cup qualification Edit Bulgaria was once again drawn into a tough group with Denmark and Czech Republic The group was also the debut of Bulgaria s top scoring legend Dimitar Berbatov Bulgaria won the matches against the weaker teams but lost once and drew once with both Denmark and the Czech Republic Bulgaria finished third with 17 points three points behind second placed Czech Republic thus failing to make the World Cup in South Korea and Japan Euro 2004 Edit Bulgaria managed to qualify for the Euro 2004 in Portugal by finishing first with wins over Croatia and Belgium They drew Sweden Italy and Denmark in Group C All three group stage matches ended up in losses for Bulgaria with Martin Petrov being the team s lone scorer in the country s 1 2 loss to Italy 2006 World Cup qualification Edit Bulgaria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany after a run of poor results They tied with Sweden and Croatia the first run but lost the other meetings to the two sides Although Berbatov scored many goals in the qualifiers including a last minute equalizer against Croatia Bulgaria still finished third in qualifying with 15 points 2006 Kirin Cup Edit Bulgaria found themselves in a minor tournament in Japan known as the Kirin Cup They started off well with a 2 1 victory over the hosts Japan However Bulgaria lost 5 1 to Scotland the eventual cup champions Bulgaria finished as the runners up and received the silver medal Euro 2008 qualification Edit Group G of Euro 2008 qualification had Netherlands Romania and Bulgaria attempting to qualify for Euro 2008 hosted by Switzerland and Austria Bulgaria performed well after a run of good results against Romania which gave them the first place Bulgaria finished third in the group falling short on one point behind the Netherlands 2010 World Cup qualification Edit Bulgaria in 2010 Bulgaria were drawn against Italy and Ireland in qualifying in Group 8 Bulgaria started the campaign with a series of draws Manager Plamen Markov was replaced by Stanimir Stoilov in January 2009 The Bulgarians then recorded their first wins of the group over Cyprus Montenegro and Georgia They finished in third place with 14 points therefore failing to qualify to a play off spot Euro 2012 qualification Edit The national team in 2012 Bulgaria were drawn in Group G along with England Switzerland Wales and Montenegro Bulgaria finished in last place in the group 2014 World Cup qualification Edit In the qualification phase for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil Bulgaria were placed in Group B together with the teams of Italy Denmark Czech Republic Armenia and Malta Under the guidance of former player Lyuboslav Penev as head coach Bulgaria enjoyed a revival and some noteworthy performances in friendly matches before the start of the qualifying including a 2 1 victory over 2010 World Cup runners up Netherlands in Amsterdam The qualifying began with a 2 2 draw against Euro 2012 runners up Italy Bulgaria then edged a tight match against Armenia which ended 1 0 Next Bulgaria drew 1 1 against Denmark Four days later Bulgaria earned a hard fought 0 0 draw away to the Czech Republic As a result the team climbed from 96th in the FIFA World Rankings their lowest position in history to 40th in November 2012 Penev s players hosted and defeated Malta 6 0 under heavy snowfall Four days later Bulgaria drew Denmark 1 1 in Copenhagen This result left Bulgaria second in the group with 10 points still undefeated Bulgaria traveled to Italy losing 1 0 After a series of poor results Bulgaria ended up failing to qualify for Brazil 2014 Euro 2016 qualification Edit Bulgaria were placed in a group with Italy Croatia Norway Azerbaijan and Malta Bulgaria opened up their first match with a 2 1 victory over Azerbaijan They were defeated 1 0 by Croatia following another 2 1 defeat to Norway To make it worse Bulgaria drew with Malta 1 1 at home which would cost manager Lyuboslav Penev his position He was replaced by Ludogorets Razgrad manager Ivaylo Petev On his debut match Petev s squad drew Romania 0 0 this later led to a 2 2 draw with Italy which Bulgaria led until a last minute Italian equalizer Bulgaria defeated Malta 1 0 to edge two points ever closer to the third place playoff position After a series of losses Bulgaria failed to qualify for Euro 2016 in France despite a 2 0 defeat of Azerbaijan 2018 World Cup qualification Edit Bulgaria were drawn in a strong World Cup qualification group with the Netherlands France Sweden Belarus and Luxembourg They began with a 4 3 win against Luxembourg at home 7 This was followed by heavy losses to France 4 1 and Sweden 3 0 8 9 In November 2016 the Lions beat Belarus in Sofia 1 0 10 and then put up one of their best performances in recent years beating the Netherlands 2 0 to move into third place in the group 11 Bulgaria then beat the group leaders Sweden 3 2 in Sofia to move one point behind their opponents in the table 12 However they lost the match against the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena 3 1 A 1 0 defeat at home to France and a 1 1 draw in Luxembourg ended their chances of qualifying 13 Euro 2020 qualification and Nations League Edit Bulgaria were drawn in UEFA Nations League C with Norway Slovenia and Cyprus Bulgaria opened up the campaign with a 2 1 win over Slovenia and a clean sheet against Norway The Norwegians eventually avenged their loss to Bulgaria resulting in a tie for first place Bulgaria eventually closed out the second round of games with two 1 1 draws against Slovenia and Cyprus resulting in a second place finish Bulgaria was drawn in Group A with England Czech Republic Montenegro and Kosovo The team began the qualifying campaign with a 1 1 home draw against Montenegro and a 1 1 away draw to Kosovo while losing three major players due to injuries 14 They later carried on with two more losses which sparked the end of their group campaign Despite finishing in fourth place the national side had one more opportunity to qualify for the Euros thanks to the good performance in the Nations League It sent Bulgaria to the Path A qualifying play offs which also included Hungary Iceland and Romania The draw put Bulgaria against Hungary in their first play off match on their quest to qualify for a major competition since 2004 However in front of limited number of home fans Bulgaria fell 1 3 to Hungary and was eliminated from the tournament 15 16 2020 21 Nations League Edit After appointing Georgi Dermendzhiev as their new head coach Bulgaria began their brief promotion in League B Being drawn into Group 4 with Wales Finland and Republic of Ireland Bulgaria played its first match against Ireland A near victory for the Bulgarians until a 90th minute injury time equalizer sealed the draw for the Irish 17 Bulgaria would then play away to Wales where they held the hosts leveled 0 0 until another 90th minute injury time goal that resulted in 0 1 loss The problems would continue with another set of narrow losses to Finland and Wales forcing Bulgaria to miss out on promotion to League A With two more matches left Bulgaria finished winless against Finland and Ireland relegating the Lions to League C 2022 World Cup qualification Edit Yasen Petrov was hired as the coach prior to the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup Bulgaria began the campaign horribly losing at home 1 3 to Switzerland and 0 2 to Italy The team somewhat improved in the next two games drawing away at Northern Ireland and Italy the reigning European champions Bulgaria then beat Lithuania 1 0 at home but lost 1 3 away against the same team ending their hopes for qualification A 2 1 home win against Northern Ireland was only a brief moment of rejoice before a heavy 0 4 defeat to Switzerland ended a largely miserable attempt for qualifying 2022 23 UEFA Nations League Edit Bulgaria was allocated to League C for the League of Nations season after relegation from the previous edition Bulgaria s opponents were drawn to be North Macedonia Georgia and Gibraltar The campaign began with a 1 1 draw against North Macedonia at home followed by a heavy 2 5 loss against Georgia at home Yasen Petrov handed his resignation following the game Georgi Ivanov was appointed as interim manager for the next two games against Gibraltar and Georgia Another shameful performance followed when the Lions drew 1 1 in Gibraltar which was one of only few times that the Gibraltar national team had not lost a competitive game in its history In Georgia Bulgaria drew 0 0 extending the winless streak to four games During the one month pause of the tournament Serbian Mladen Krstajic was appointed as manager Under his reins Bulgaria recorded two wins against Gibraltar at home and North Macedonia away eventually finishing second in the group The game against North Macedonia was particularly intense due to rising political tensions between the two countries at that time The Bulgarian national anthem was heavily booed followed by multiple provocations from both Macedonian fans and players aimed at the Bulgarian team Team image EditBulgaria s traditional colours are white green and red taken from the colours of the country s flag This tricolour is reflected through the use of white shirts green shorts and red socks The team s away kits have usually been red Their nickname is The Lions in tribute of the lions represented in the coat of arms of Bulgaria Colours Edit Bulgarian tri color flag Coat of arms of Bulgaria Kit sponsorship Edit Supplier Period Adidas 1974 1994 Puma 1995 2010 Kappa 2011 2014 Joma 2015 2022 Macron 2023 Ultras and controversy Edit See also Racism in association football In recent years ultras of the Bulgarian team have developed a reputation for racism After racist chanting and monkey noises directed at Ashley Young Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott during a qualifier for Euro 2012 the Bulgarian Football Union was fined 40 000 by UEFA 18 The BFU denied that racism would be an issue during Euro 2020 qualifiers claiming that the issue was worse in England 19 Nevertheless Bulgarian ultras were accused of racist chants during their matches against Czech Republic Kosovo and England As a result part of the Bulgarian stadium was closed off for the match against England October 2019 and officials twice halted the game under the UEFA anti racism protocol 20 In the following days since the match took place Bulgarian police identified 15 fans they suspected were responsible for subjecting black English players including Raheem Sterling Marcus Rashford and Tyrone Mings to racist abuse arresting six of them 21 UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin condemned the alleged abuse calling on the football family and governments to wage war on the racists 22 Disciplinary proceedings have been launched against both Bulgaria and England 23 Home stadium EditTraditionally the Bulgarian national football team s home stadium is the Vasil Levski National Stadium with a capacity of 44 000 Vasil Levski was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002 It is the second largest stadium in Bulgaria behind the Plovdiv Stadium with a capacity of 55 000 During the 2006 07 UEFA Champions League the stadium was used for Levski Sofia matches with Barcelona Chelsea and Werder Bremen Similarly Ludogorets Razgrad used it as their main home venue for their European matches until the 2017 18 season The Bulgarian national team s home matches and the Bulgarian Cup finals are held at the venue as well as athletics competitions Lately the national team is playing its home matches at the Huvepharma Arena in Razgrad home of 11 time Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad Opened in 1954 and renovated in 2011 the stadium has a capacity of 10 422 Vasil Levski National Stadium Huvepharma ArenaResults and fixtures EditMain article Bulgaria national football team results 2020 present Win Draw Loss 2022 Edit Qatar v Bulgaria 26 March FriendlyQatar 2 1 BulgariaAl Rayyan Qatar17 30 19 30 UTC 3 Afif 27 pen Khoukhi 72 Report Despodov 60 Stadium Education City Stadium Attendance 1 948Referee Mohammed Al Hoish Saudi Arabia Croatia v Bulgaria 29 March FriendlyCroatia 2 1 BulgariaAl Rayyan Qatar16 00 18 00 UTC 3 Modric 76 pen Kramaric 80 Report Despodov 69 Stadium Education City Stadium Attendance 1 000Referee Khamis Mohammed Al Marri Qatar Bulgaria v North Macedonia 2 June UEFA Nations LeagueBulgaria 1 1 North MacedoniaRazgrad Bulgaria20 45 21 45 UTC 3 Despodov 13 Report M Ristovski 50 Stadium Huvepharma Arena Attendance 8 275Referee Jeremie Pignard France Bulgaria v Georgia 5 June UEFA Nations LeagueBulgaria 2 5 GeorgiaRazgrad Bulgaria20 45 21 45 UTC 3 A Iliev 50 Stefanov 83 Report Davitashvili 4 A Hristov 31 o g Zivzivadze 52 Kvaratskhelia 58 pen Qazaishvili 69 Stadium Huvepharma Arena Attendance 3 600Referee Fabio Maresca Italy Gibraltar v Bulgaria 9 June UEFA Nations LeagueGibraltar 1 1 BulgariaGibraltar20 45 Walker 61 pen Report G Minchev 45 1 Stadium Victoria Stadium Attendance 1 427Referee Petri Viljanen Finland Georgia v Bulgaria 12 June UEFA Nations LeagueGeorgia 0 0 BulgariaTbilisi Georgia18 00 20 00 UTC 4 Report Stadium Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena Attendance 54 200Referee Espen Eskas Norway Bulgaria v Gibraltar 23 September UEFA Nations LeagueBulgaria 5 1 GibraltarRazgrad Bulgaria20 45 21 45 UTC 3 Antov 23 Despodov 36 Kirilov 52 Stefanov 55 Petkov 81 Report R Chipolina 26 Stadium Huvepharma Arena Attendance 1 540Referee Pavel Orel Czech Republic North Macedonia v Bulgaria 26 September UEFA Nations LeagueNorth Macedonia 0 1 BulgariaSkopje North Macedonia20 45 Report Despodov 50 Stadium Tose Proeski Arena Attendance 20 173Referee Julian Weinberger Austria Cyprus v Bulgaria 16 November FriendlyCyprus 0 2 BulgariaLarnaca Cyprus19 00 20 00 UTC 2 Report Despodov 24 Delev 71 Stadium AEK Arena Georgios Karapatakis Attendance 1 000Referee Trustin Farrugia Cann Malta Luxembourg v Bulgaria 20 November FriendlyLuxembourg 0 0 BulgariaLuxembourg City Luxembourg15 00 Report Stadium Stade de Luxembourg Attendance 4 700Referee Manfredas Lukjancukas Lithuania 2023 Edit Bulgaria v Montenegro 24 March UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingBulgaria 0 1 MontenegroRazgrad Bulgaria19 00 UTC 2 Report Krstovic 70 Stadium Huvepharma Arena Attendance 9 234Referee Aliyar Aghayev Azerbaijan Hungary v Bulgaria 27 March UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingHungary 3 0 BulgariaBudapest Hungary21 45 UTC 2 Vecsei 7 Szoboszlai 26 Adam 39 Report Stadium Puskas Arena Attendance 53 000Referee Halil Umut Meler Turkey Lithuania v Bulgaria 17 June UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingLithuania v BulgariaKaunas Lithuania16 00 UTC 3 Report Stadium Darius and Girenas Stadium Bulgaria v Serbia 20 June UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingBulgaria v SerbiaRazgrad Bulgaria21 45 UTC 3 Report Stadium Huvepharma Arena Montenegro v Bulgaria 10 September UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingMontenegro v BulgariaMontenegro19 00 UTC 3 Report Bulgaria v Lithuania 14 October UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingBulgaria v LithuaniaBulgaria19 00 UTC 3 Report Bulgaria v Hungary 16 November UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingBulgaria v HungaryBulgaria21 45 UTC 2 Report Serbia v Bulgaria 19 November UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingSerbia v BulgariaSerbia16 00 UTC 2 ReportCoaching staff EditRole NameHead Coach Mladen KrstajicAssistant Coach Stefan JankovicAssistant Coach Nemanja MilincicAssistant Coach Ivan IvanovGoalkeeping Coach Darko BozovicCoach Analyst Krsto JokicAnalyst Nikola JanjicSports Scientist Marko StojanovicFitness Coach Svetlin SpasovRecovery Coach Nikola IzpoldzhiyskiGPS Analyst Vladimir GrozdanovDoctor Zdravko TaralovCoaching history Edit Leopold Nitsch 1922 1924 Willibald Stejskal 1925 1926 Pavel Grozdanov 1927 1930 Carl Nemes 1930 1931 Otto Feist 1931 1932 Pavel Grozdanov 1932 1933 Karoly Fogl 1934 1935 Nikola Kalkandzhiev 1935 1936 Ivan Batandzhiev 1936 Geno Mateev 1936 1937 Stanislav Toms 1937 1938 Kostantin Maznikov 1938 1939 Ivan Radoev 1939 1940 Franz Kohler 1940 1941 Ivan Radoev 1941 1942 Ivan Batandzhiev 1943 1945 Todor Konov 1945 1946 Mihail Manov 1947 Ivan Radoev 1947 Rezso Somlai 1947 1948 Lubomir Angelov 1948 Andor Hajdu 1948 1949 Ivan Radoev 1950 Lubomir Angelov 1950 Andor Hajdu 1950 Lubomir Angelov 1950 1953 Stoyan Ormandzhiev 1950 1953 Krum Milev 1954 1960 Georgi Pachedzhiev 1955 1962 Stoyan Ormandzhiev 1963 Bela Volentik 1963 1965 Rudolf Vytlacil 1965 1966 Dobromir Tashkov 1966 1967 Stefan Bozhkov 1967 1970 Vasil Spasov 1970 1972 Hristo Mladenov 1972 1974 Stoyan Ormandzhiev 1974 1977 Tsvetan Ilchev 1978 1980 Atanas Purzhelov 1980 1982 Ivan Vutsov 1982 1986 Hristo Mladenov 1986 1987 Boris Angelov 1988 1989 Ivan Vutsov 1989 1991 Dimitar Penev 1991 1996 Hristo Bonev 1996 1998 Dimitar Dimitrov 1998 1999 Stoycho Mladenov 2000 2001 Plamen Markov 2002 2004 Hristo Stoichkov 2004 2007 Stanimir Stoilov 2007 Dimitar Penev 2007 Plamen Markov 2007 2008 Stanimir Stoilov 2009 2010 Lothar Matthaus 2010 2011 Mihail Madanski 2011 Lyuboslav Penev 2011 2014 Ivaylo Petev 2015 2016 Petar Hubchev 2016 2019 Krasimir Balakov 2019 Georgi Dermendzhiev 2019 2020 Yasen Petrov 2021 2022 Georgi Ivanov 2022 Mladen Krstajic 2022 Players EditCurrent squad Edit The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying games against Montenegro and Hungary on 24 and 27 March 2023 24 Caps and goals as of 27 March 2023 after the match against Hungary 25 26 No Pos Player Date of birth age Caps Goals Club1 1 GK Daniel Naumov 1998 03 29 29 March 1998 age 24 8 0 CSKA 194812 1 GK Ivan Dyulgerov 1999 07 15 15 July 1999 age 23 0 0 Cherno More21 1 GK Svetoslav Vutsov 2002 07 09 9 July 2002 age 20 4 0 Slavia Sofia2 2 DF Ivaylo Markov 1997 06 05 5 June 1997 age 25 1 0 Podbeskidzie Bielsko Biala3 2 DF Hristiyan Petrov 2002 06 24 24 June 2002 age 20 2 0 CSKA Sofia5 2 DF Plamen Galabov 1995 11 02 2 November 1995 age 27 5 0 Maccabi Netanya6 2 DF Viktor Popov 2000 03 05 5 March 2000 age 23 6 0 Cherno More15 2 DF Petko Hristov 1999 03 01 1 March 1999 age 24 18 0 Venezia23 2 DF Valentin Antov 2000 11 09 9 November 2000 age 22 17 1 Monza2 DF Anton Nedyalkov 1993 04 30 30 April 1993 age 29 28 0 Ludogorets Razgrad4 3 MF Ilia Gruev 2000 05 06 6 May 2000 age 22 6 0 Werder Bremen8 3 MF Yanis Karabelyov 1996 01 23 23 January 1996 age 27 12 0 Kisvarda13 3 MF Yoni Stoyanov 2001 05 22 22 May 2001 age 21 6 0 Sektzia Ness Ziona14 3 MF Stanislav Shopov 2002 02 23 23 February 2002 age 21 1 0 CSKA Sofia16 3 MF Marin Petkov 2003 10 02 2 October 2003 age 19 6 1 Levski Sofia17 3 MF Ivan Yordanov 2000 11 07 7 November 2000 age 22 2 0 Spartak Varna18 3 MF Nikola Iliev 2004 06 06 6 June 2004 age 18 6 0 Inter Milan20 3 MF Filip Krastev 2001 10 15 15 October 2001 age 21 10 0 Levski Sofia22 3 MF Ilian Iliev Jr 1999 08 20 20 August 1999 age 23 10 0 Apollon Limassol7 4 FW Georgi Rusev 1998 07 02 2 July 1998 age 24 6 0 CSKA 19489 4 FW Spas Delev 1989 09 22 22 September 1989 age 33 40 4 Ludogorets Razgrad10 4 FW Radoslav Kirilov 1992 06 29 29 June 1992 age 30 12 2 CSKA 194811 4 FW Kiril Despodov captain 1996 11 11 11 November 1996 age 26 37 9 Ludogorets Razgrad19 4 FW Martin Minchev 2001 04 22 22 April 2001 age 21 11 0 Sparta PragueRecent call ups Edit The following players have also been called up to the Bulgarian squad within the last 12 months and are still available for selection Pos Player Date of birth age Caps Goals Club Latest call upGK Nikolay Mihaylov 1988 06 28 28 June 1988 age 34 46 0 Levski Sofia v Georgia 12 June 2022DF Dimo Krastev 2003 02 10 10 February 2003 age 20 1 0 Fiorentina v Montenegro 24 March 2023INJDF Ivan Turitsov 1999 07 18 18 July 1999 age 23 15 0 CSKA Sofia v Luxembourg 20 November 2022DF Dimitar Velkovski 1995 01 22 22 January 1995 age 28 9 0 Miedz Legnica v Luxembourg 20 November 2022DF Mateo Stamatov 1999 03 22 22 March 1999 age 24 0 0 Orenburg v Luxembourg 20 November 2022DF Andrea Hristov 1999 03 01 1 March 1999 age 24 14 1 Reggiana v Georgia 12 June 2022DF Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski 1995 08 08 8 August 1995 age 27 11 0 Widzew Lodz v Georgia 12 June 2022DF Edisson Jordanov 1993 06 08 8 June 1993 age 29 5 0 Westerlo v Georgia 12 June 2022DF Vasil Bozhikov 3rd captain 1988 06 02 2 June 1988 age 34 38 2 Unattached v Croatia 29 March 2022DF Kristian Dimitrov 1997 02 27 27 February 1997 age 26 14 1 Levski Sofia v Croatia 29 March 2022DF Miki Orachev 1996 03 19 19 March 1996 age 27 1 0 Lokomotiv Sofia v Croatia 29 March 2022MF Iliyan Stefanov 1998 09 20 20 September 1998 age 24 6 2 Levski Sofia v Montenegro 24 March 2023INJMF Dominik Yankov 2000 07 28 28 July 2000 age 22 15 0 Ludogorets Razgrad v Montenegro 24 March 2023INJMF Georgi Milanov 1992 02 19 19 February 1992 age 31 47 2 Al Dhafra v Georgia 12 June 2022MF Todor Nedelev 1993 02 07 7 February 1993 age 30 44 5 Ludogorets Razgrad v Georgia 12 June 2022MF Georgi Kostadinov 1990 09 07 7 September 1990 age 32 37 3 APOEL v Georgia 12 June 2022MF Ivaylo Chochev 1993 02 18 18 February 1993 age 30 35 4 CSKA 1948 v Georgia 12 June 2022MF Kristiyan Malinov 1994 03 30 30 March 1994 age 28 29 0 OH Leuven v Georgia 12 June 2022MF Andrian Kraev 1999 02 14 14 February 1999 age 24 2 0 Levski Sofia v Georgia 12 June 2022MF Borislav Tsonev 1995 04 29 29 April 1995 age 27 5 0 Dalian Professional v Croatia 29 March 2022FW Atanas Iliev 1994 10 09 9 October 1994 age 28 16 3 Cherno More v Georgia 12 June 2022FW Georgi Yomov SUS 1997 07 06 6 July 1997 age 25 10 2 CSKA Sofia v Georgia 12 June 2022FW Georgi Minchev 1995 04 20 20 April 1995 age 27 9 1 Riga v Georgia 12 June 2022INJ Player withdrew from the current squad due to injury COVID Player withdrew from the current squad due to testing positively for COVID 19 or having to self isolate because of it U21 Not part of the squad due to U 21 call up PRE Preliminary squad RET Player had announced retirement from international football SUS Player is serving a suspension PRI Player absent due to private circumstances WD Withdrawn Player records EditAs of 28 March 2021 27 Players in bold text are still active with Bulgaria Most appearances Edit Stiliyan Petrov is Bulgaria s most capped player with 105 appearances Rank Player Caps Goals Career1 Stiliyan Petrov 105 8 1998 20132 Borislav Mihaylov 102 0 1983 19983 Hristo Bonev 96 48 1967 19794 Krasimir Balakov 92 16 1988 20035 Dimitar Penev 90 2 1965 1974Ivelin Popov 90 18 2007 20197 Martin Petrov 89 19 1999 20138 Radostin Kishishev 88 1 1996 20099 Hristo Stoichkov 83 37 1986 199910 Ayan Sadakov 80 9 1981 1991Zlatko Yankov 80 4 1989 1999Top goalscorers Edit Dimitar Berbatov is Bulgaria s joint all time top scorer with 48 goals Rank Player Goals Caps Average Career1 Dimitar Berbatov 48 78 0 62 1999 2010Hristo Bonev 48 96 0 5 1967 19793 Hristo Stoichkov 37 83 0 46 1987 19994 Emil Kostadinov 27 70 0 39 1988 19985 Lyubomir Angelov 26 44 0 59 1931 19406 Petar Zhekov 25 44 0 57 1963 1972Ivan Kolev 25 75 0 33 1950 19638 Nasko Sirakov 24 78 0 31 1983 19969 Atanas Mihaylov 23 45 0 51 1970 198110 Dimitar Milanov 20 39 0 51 1948 1959Competitive record EditFIFA World Cup Edit Main article Bulgaria at the FIFA World Cup Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place FIFA World Cup record Qualification recordYear Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA 1930 Did not enter Declined invitation 1934 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 3 14 1938 2 0 1 1 1 7 1950 Did not enter Declined participation 1954 Did not qualify 4 0 1 3 3 7 1958 4 2 0 2 11 7 1962 Group stage 15th 3 0 1 2 1 7 Squad 5 4 0 1 7 4 1966 15th 3 0 0 3 1 8 Squad 5 4 0 1 11 7 1970 13th 3 0 1 2 5 9 Squad 6 4 1 1 12 7 1974 12th 3 0 2 1 2 5 Squad 6 4 2 0 13 3 1978 Did not qualify 4 1 2 1 5 6 1982 8 4 1 3 11 10 1986 Round of 16 15th 4 0 2 2 2 6 Squad 8 5 1 2 13 5 1990 Did not qualify 6 1 1 4 6 8 1994 Fourth place 4th 7 3 1 3 10 11 Squad 10 6 2 2 19 10 1998 Group stage 29th 3 0 1 2 1 7 Squad 8 6 0 2 18 9 2002 Did not qualify 10 5 2 3 14 15 2006 10 4 3 3 17 17 2010 10 3 5 2 17 13 2014 10 3 4 3 14 9 2018 10 4 1 5 14 19 2022 8 2 2 4 6 14 2026 To be determined To be determinedTotal Fourth place 7 22 26 3 8 15 22 53 137 62 29 46 215 191 Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks UEFA European Championship Edit Main article Bulgaria at the UEFA European Championship UEFA European Championship record Qualifying recordYear Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA 1960 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 3 1964 5 3 0 2 7 7 1968 8 5 2 1 13 4 1972 6 3 1 2 11 7 1976 6 2 2 2 12 7 1980 8 2 1 5 6 14 1984 6 2 1 3 7 8 1988 8 4 2 2 12 6 1992 8 3 3 2 15 8 1996 Group stage 11th 3 1 1 1 3 4 Squad 10 7 1 2 24 10 2000 Did not qualify 8 2 2 4 6 8 2004 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 1 9 Squad 8 5 2 1 13 4 2008 Did not qualify 12 7 4 1 18 7 2012 8 1 2 5 3 13 2016 10 3 2 5 9 12 2020 9 1 3 5 7 20 2024 To be determined To be determinedTotal Group stage 2 16 6 1 1 4 4 13 122 50 29 43 164 140 Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks UEFA Nations League Edit UEFA Nations League recordSeason Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P R RK2018 19 C 3 6 3 2 1 7 5 29th2020 21 B 4 6 0 2 4 2 7 31st2022 23 C 4 6 2 3 1 10 8 40th2024 25 C To be determinedTotal 18 5 7 6 19 20 29th Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks Olympic Games Edit Olympic Games recordYear Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad 1908 Did not enter 1912 1920 1924 Round of 16 12th 1 0 0 1 0 1 Squad 1928 Did not enter 1936 1948 1952 Round of 16 13th 1 0 0 1 1 2 Squad 1956 Bronze medal 3rd 3 2 0 1 10 3 Squad 1960 Group stage 5th 3 2 1 0 8 3 Squad 1964 Did not qualify 1968 Silver medal 2nd 6 3 2 1 16 10 Squad 1972 Did not qualify 1976 1980 1984 1988Since 1992 Olympic football has been an under 23 tournamentTotal 1 Silver medal 5 17 14 7 3 4 35 19 Balkan Cup Edit Balkan Cup recordYear Result Position Pld W D L GF GA1929 31 Fourth place 4th 6 2 0 4 10 19 1931 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 8 3 1932 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 7 2 1933 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 2 11 1934 35 Fourth place 4th 3 1 0 2 7 8 1935 Runners up 2nd 3 2 1 0 12 5 1936 Runners up 2nd 2 1 0 1 6 8 1946 Fourth place 4th 3 0 1 2 4 71947 Fourth place 4th 4 1 0 3 5 141948 Group stage 3rd 5 2 1 2 6 71973 76 Champions 1st 4 2 0 2 10 91977 80 Group stage 3rd 4 1 1 2 4 6Total 3 Titles 12 12 42 18 4 20 81 99 Competition abandoned with Bulgaria in third place Head to head record EditAs of 27 March 2023 after the match against Hungary 28 Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record Opponents Pld W D L GF GA GD Albania 14 7 4 3 17 10 7 Algeria 6 3 2 1 9 6 3 Andorra 2 2 0 0 5 1 4 Argentina 9 1 0 8 6 18 12 Armenia 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 Australia 4 2 2 0 8 4 4 Austria 8 1 2 5 7 21 14 Azerbaijan 4 3 1 0 6 2 4 Belarus 8 5 0 3 12 7 5 Belgium 14 6 2 6 20 23 3 Bolivia 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 Brazil 9 0 1 8 2 19 17 Cameroon 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 Canada 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Chile 1 0 0 1 2 3 1 Croatia 9 1 2 6 6 18 12 Cuba 1 1 0 0 5 2 3 Cyprus 16 14 1 1 36 10 26 Czech Republic a 25 10 5 10 24 34 10 Denmark 16 4 8 4 20 21 1 East Germany 23 8 8 7 31 30 1 Ecuador 2 1 0 1 3 4 1 Egypt 7 2 2 3 8 9 1 England 12 0 4 8 2 26 24 Estonia 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 Finland 10 7 1 2 20 7 13 France 23 8 4 11 26 41 15 Georgia 8 4 2 2 21 12 9 Germany b 24 4 2 18 28 62 34 Ghana 1 1 0 0 10 0 10 Gibraltar 3 2 1 0 9 2 7 Greece 26 13 7 6 48 35 13 Guatemala 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 Hungary 34 6 10 18 38 77 39 Iceland 5 4 1 0 12 7 5 India 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 Indonesia 1 1 0 0 4 0 4 Iran 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Israel 7 4 2 1 13 6 7 Italy 23 2 9 12 19 42 23 Jamaica 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Japan 6 4 1 1 13 10 3 Jordan 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 Kazakhstan 2 2 0 0 4 2 2 Kosovo 2 0 1 1 3 4 1 Kuwait 5 2 3 0 9 6 3 Latvia 3 3 0 0 6 0 6 Lebanon 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 Lithuania 3 2 0 1 5 3 2 Luxembourg 15 13 2 0 39 9 30 no, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. |