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The FIFA Bulgaria national football team (Template:Lang-bg) is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association^{[clarification needed]} of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Lyuboslav Penev is national manager. Their best World Cup performance was in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where they beat defending champions Germany to reach the semi-finals, losing to Italy. Although defeating strong top ranked teams in international friendlies throughout the years, the team's strength has diminished slowly, failing to qualify for any major tournament since 2004.

History

The Beginning

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 Viena on 21 May 1924, with a 2–0 defeat of Austria. Bulgaria later on qualified to the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, but had to withdraw due to strong storms on the Atlantic at that time. Bulgaria’s power would overtime grow and eventually reach its peak.

World Cup 1930 Withdrawal

Bulgaria's first appearance in a World Cup was the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, but failed to enter because delay of flights, during typhoon and hurricane storms on the Atlantic Ocean. This was a major disappointment to the national side. Bulgaria’s next major tournament was the entrance to the 1962 world cup.

Years of International Wilderness

The Bulgarian side, at this time, could not progress in qualifying to any major tournaments from the time of 1930 to 1960. This period of time was the international wilderness for Bulgaria. They would end up on many occasions getting 2nd or 3rd in their qualifying group and proceeding to the play offs, but in the end not able to qualify. Bulgaria although, did defeat many great teams in international friendlies during those years. The only tournaments they seemed to qualify for were smaller tournaments, such as the Balkan Cup, which they have won four times. Finally, there time came, when they qualified for the World Cup for the second time, in Chile, 1962.

1960s and 1970s: Four Time World Cup Streak, First Time Euro, Olympic Finale and Balkan Triumph

In the 1960s and '70s, Bulgaria qualified for four straight World Cup tournaments, in 1962 (their second time), 1966, 1970, and 1974, but without much success, finishing third in the Group stage three out of the four times. They would finally qaulify for there first Euro, Euro 1968. They would win there group with a 4-2 win over Norway, a 3-0 win over Sweden, and a 1-0 win over a very powerful Portuguese side. The national side would then go on to a two legged qaurterfinal against eventaul Champions and hosts Italy. Bulgaria would win the first leg 3-2, but lose the second by a 2-0 score. This performance was Bulgaria's best at the time and till now. Bulgaria later on won the Balkan Cup in 1976 by beating Romania in the two legged final 1–0, 3–2. In the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, they won a silver medal with a tournament finale loss. They finished first in Group D by beating Thailand 7–0, Guatemala 2–1, and a 2–2 draw against Czechoslovakia. They passed the quarter-finals by beating Israel and the semi-finals by beating Olympic hosts Mexico. In the final, they would be defeated by the Hungary, giving the Bulgarians the silver Olympic medals.

World Cup 1986: The Knockout Rounds

Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup in Mexico by finishing second in Group Four, behind France with 11 points, but worse goal difference, ahead of the teams of Yugoslavia, East Germany, and Luxembourg. 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 a 1–1 draw. Alessandro Altobelli gave the Italians the lead, but a 85th minute equalizer by Nasko Sirakov gave the Bulgarians the point. 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 ended up winning the tournament. Despite not recording a win, the Bulgarians advanced to the knockout stage by being the third-best third placed team. That way, Bulgaria and also 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 and lost the match 2–0. Ivan Vutsov was the manager of the team.

Stoitchkov’s Reign And The Golden Generation

World Cup 1994: Semifinal Triumph

Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is 17 November 1993, a date where Emil Kostadinov scored two goals 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 reaching the semi-finals. They entered Group D with Argentina, Nigeria, and Greece. Before that, the Bulgarians hadn't won a single match in five World Cup finals appearances. The first match ended with a 3–0 defeat by Nigeria. Despite the bad start, the team won 4–0 against World Cup-debuting featherweights Greece and 2–0 against Argentina. Argentina had actually been winning the group going into injury-time. A 91st minute strike from Nasko Sirakov, however, meant that they dropped two places and finished third. Bulgaria continued to the next round, where they faced Mexico. The match ended 1–1 and after no goals were scored in extra time, penalties would decide which team would go through. Team captain Borislav Mihaylov made a good performance saving the first three penalty kicks. Bulgaria won 3–1 on penalties with Mihaylov becoming the hero for the Bulgarian team. In the quarter-finals, Bulgaria faced the then-defending World Cup champions Germany. Lothar Matthäus scored from a penalty. The Bulgarians, however, managed to turn the game over with two goals by Hristo Stoichkov and Yordan Lechkov, giving them a 2–1 win and recording one of the most memorable wins for the team. Millions of Bulgarians celebrated this win in the Bulgarian capital city of Sofia and other Bulgarian cities. Having reached the semi-finals, this was the best Bulgarian performance in the World Cup. In the semi-finals, they lost 2–1 to Italy and were eventually given the bronze medals. Hristo Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the tournament with six goals. Krasimir Balakov was named in the all-star team along with Stoichkov. Starting 11: GK-Mihaylov(c); RB-Kiryakov/Kremenliev, CB/SW-Hubchev, CB-Ivanov, LB-Tsvetanov; DM-Yankov, CM-Lechkov, CM-Balakov, AM/CF-Sirakov/Borimirov; CF/RW-Kostadinov, CF/LW-Stoichkov.

Euro 1996: Group Stage or Quarterfinal

In 1996, the team qualified for the European Football Championship for the first time, after some good results in the qualifying group, including a stunning 3–2 turnaround win against future Euro 1996 champions Germany. They were drawn in Group B with France, Spain, and Romania. Bulgaria started with a 1–1 draw against the Spanish. They would score a second with a wonderful volley by Stoitchkov but it would be ruled offsides even though the cameras showed it clearly wasn't. After there rob of a win over Spain, Bulgaria went on to a 1–0 win against Romania. Stoitchkov scoring in the 3rd minute adding a second goal to the list. In the final group match, they lost 3–1 against France, Stoitchkov scoring from an amazing freekick to give Bulgaria there only goal of the game. At the same time, Spain defeated Romania 2–1 with the winner coming in the 84th minute, and the Bulgarians subsequently failed to qualify and robbed of the quarter-finals.

World Cup 1998: The Last Of The Golden Team

Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup in France by finishing first in the Group 5, followed by Russia. They entered the competition with a new manager Hristo Bonev. Bulgaria drew Spain, Nigeria, and Paraguay in Group D. The first match ended in a 0–0 goalless draw against Paraguay. In the second match, the Bulgarians lost 1–0 for a second-straight World Cup to Nigeria. The final match ended with a disappointing 6–1 defeat to Spain, even though two offsides goals were ruled out. Following the bad results, Bulgaria finished fourth in the group, with only one point, and didn't go through the next round. This was the last major appearance at World Cup level for Bulgaria.

The 2000's: Playoffs and Close Calls

Euro 2000 Qualifiers and the End of a Legend

Bulgaria was drawn in a tough qualifying group with teams like England, Sweden, and Poland. The campaign started bad 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 one for Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov before his international retirement. Bulgaria finished third with eight points and failed to make the final stages of Euro 2000.

Berbatov's Era

World Cup 2002 Qualifiers

Bulgaria, Denmark, and Czech Republic amongst the main contenders for the qualifying spots. This is also the debut of Bulgaria's top scoring legend Dimitar Berbatov. Bulgaria won the matches against the weaker teams, but lost 2–0 to Denmark and one match with the Czech Republic. That way, Bulgaria finished third with 17 points and 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 in the group ahead of teams like Croatia and Belgium with 17 points. They drew Sweden, Italy, and Denmark in Group C. They started very disappointing with a defeat to Sweden, followed by a 2–0 defeat to Denmark. The last match against Italy was a reasonable 2–1 defeat. The match was looking to end 1–1 after goals from Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov and Simone Perrotta, but a last minute goal by Antonio Cassano gave the Italians the win. They finished fourth with zero points and were sent home without reaching the knockout round.

World Cup 2006 Qualifiers

Bulgaria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany after a run of poor results,they started off good with wins over Hungary and other weaker teams. They tied with sweden and Croatia the first run but lost the other meetings to the two sides. Berbatov scored many key goals in the qaulifier including a last minute eqaulizer against Croatia. Bulgaria sadly finished third in Group Eight, behind Sweden and Croatia with 15 points.

Euro 2008: Playoffs

Group G had Netherlands, Romania, and Bulgaria as the main contestants for a qualifying spot for the Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria. Bulgaria performed well after a run of good results from Romania that gave them the first place. Bulgaria would go on to the playoffs but draw the first match 1-1 with a goal by Petrov in the 10th minute and lose the second 2-0. The Bulgarians were robbed of a Euro and finished with 25 points, after Romania and Netherlands, with only one lost match against the Dutch.

World Cup 2010 Qualifiers

Bulgaria were drawn against Italy and Ireland in qualifying Group Eight. Bulgaria started the campaign with a series of draws in the 2010 qualifiers. After the unconvincing start, the manager Plamen Markov was replaced by Stanimir Stoilov in January 2009. The Bulgarians then recorded their first win in the group against Cyprus, and also won against Montenegro and Georgia.They finished in third place in the group with 14 points, therefore failing to qualify directly or for a play-off place. Sadly, Bulgarian top scorer Berbatov resigned from the national side because of family problems and qaurrels with the coach. He although does still have a mind set of returning to the national side in the future.

Euro 2012 Qualifier Upset

Bulgaria were drawn in Group G along with England, Switzerland, Wales, and Montenegro. Bulgaria started off bad with a loss to England. They would later on draw with Switzerland and defeat Wales and Montenegro, but sadly Bulgaria finished in third behind Switzerland. This was the fourth time in the 2000's that Bulgaria has finished third in there qualifier group.

World Cup 2014 Qualifier: Hopefuls for the Future

Bulgaria are drawn in a tough group of death qualifier for the 2014 World Cup. They are in with Euro Cup finalists Italy, powerful opponents Czech Republic and Denmark and tough up-seters Armenia. With a tough group ahead Bulgaria are hopeful to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

World Cup 2014 Standings

Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B

The National Stadium

Normally, the Bulgarian national football team's home stadium is the Vasil Levski National Stadium with a capacity of 43,632. Vasil Levski was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002.It is currently eligible to host UEFA Europa League final matches. It is the second largest stadium in Bulgaria just behind the Plovdiv Stadium with a capacity 55,000. During the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, the stadium was used for the games of Levski Sofia with Barcelona, Chelsea, and Werder Bremen. It was also given three stars for its excellence in art construction of the stadium. The Bulgarian national football team's home matches and the Bulgarian Cup finals are held at the venue, as well as athletics competitions. The stadium also offers judo, artistic gymnastics, basketball, boxing, aerobics, fencing and table tennis halls, as well as a general physical training hall, two conference halls, and three restaurants.

On November 4 2011 it was announced that Bulgaria's new national stadium is going to be built in the Sofia suburb of Vrazhdebna, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Svilen Neykov, has announced. The new national stadium will be called "Arena of the Rose" and will be constructed near the International Airport where Vrazhdebna is located. It will have 60,000 seats and seen from above it will look like a rose.

Competition history

World Cup Record

Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1930	Qualified But Withdrew	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1934 to 1958	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1962	Round 1	13th	3	0	1	2	1	7
1966	Round 1	12th	3	0	0	3	1	8
1970	Round 1	12th	3	0	1	2	5	9
1974	Round 1	11th	3	0	2	1	2	5
1978 to 1982	Did Not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1986	Round of 16	10th	4	0	2	2	2	6
1990	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1994	Semifinals	3rd	7	6	0	1	10	11
1998	Round 1	22nd	3	0	1	2	1	7
2002 to 2010	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	7/19		26	6	7	15	19	53

European Championship Record

UEFA European Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960 to 1964	Did Not Qualify
1968	Quarterfinals	5th	5	4	0	1	8	6
1972 to 1992	Did Not Qualify
1996	Group Stage	9th	3	1	1	1	3	4
2000	Did Not Qualify
2004	Group Stage	14th	3	0	0	3	1	9
2008 to 2012	Did Not Qualify
2016	To Be Determined
Total	Group Stage	2/14	6	1	1	4	4	13

Olympic Record

Host Nation(s) - Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1896 to 1920	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1924	Round 1	1	0	0	1	0	1
1928 to 1948	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1952	Round 1	1	0	0	1	1	2
1956	3rd place	3	2	0	1	10	3
1960	Round 1	3	2	1	0	8	3
1964	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1968	Runners-up	6	3	2	1	16	10
1972 to 2012	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	5/23	14	7	3	4	35	19

Honours

File:W.Cup.svg FIFA World Cup
- Semifinals (1): 1994

Olympic football tournament
- Runners-up (1): 1968
- Third place (1): 1956

UEFA European Football Championship
- Quarterfinals (1): 1968

Balkan Cup
- Winners (4): 1931, 1932, 1935, 1973/76
- Runners-up (2): 1935, 1936
- Third Place (2) : 1934/35, 1977/80

Players

Colours and kits

Bulgarian Kit Evolution

30s

50s

1994 Home

2000

2008

Bulgaria's Undefeated Run

Bulgaria has 21 undefeated matches all together in a row. Spain and Brazil holds the longest string of 35 unbeaten matches.

Opponent	Type	Date	Result
Wales	Friendly match	15 August 2006	0–0
Romania	Friendly match	2 September 2006	2–2
Slovenia	Qualifier	6 September 2006	3–0
Netherlands	Qualifier	7 October 2006	1–1
Luxembourg	Qualifier	11 October 2006	1–0
Latvia	Friendly match	15 November 2006	2–0
Cyprus	Friendly match	7 Febuary 2007	3–0
Albania	Qualifier	28 March 2007	0–0
Belarus	Qualifier	2 June 2007	2–0
Belarus	Qualifier	6 June 2007	2–1
Wales	Friendly	22 August 2007	1-0
Luxembourg	Qualifier	12 September 2007	3–0
Albania	Qualifier	17 October 2007	1–1
Romania	Qualifier	21 November 2007	1–0
Slovenia	Qualifier	6 Febuary 2008	2–0
Northern Ireland	Friendly	26 march 2008	1–0
Finland	Friendly match	20 August 2008	2–1
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Friendly match	6 September 2008	2–1
Montenegro	World Cup Qualifier	11 October 2008	2–2
Italy	World Cup Qualifier	12 October 2008	0–0
Georgia	World Cup Qualifier	15 october 2008	0–0

Current squad

Squad for the friendly games against the Netherlands on 26 May 2012 and Turkey on 29 May 2012.

Caps and goals updated as of 26 May 2012, subsequent to the game against the Netherlands.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Plamen Iliev	(1991-11-30) November 30, 1991 (age 33)	1	0	Levski Sofia
12	1GK	Stoyan Kolev	(1976-02-06) February 6, 1976 (age 48)	15	0	Chernomorets Burgas
27	1GK	Ivan Čvorović	(1985-09-21) September 21, 1985 (age 39)	1	0	Minyor Pernik

2	2DF	Stanislav Manolev	(1985-12-16) December 16, 1985 (age 39)	22	0	PSV Eindhoven
3	2DF	Valentin Iliev	(1980-08-11) August 11, 1980 (age 44)	23	0	Volyn Lutsk
4	2DF	Petar Zanev	(1985-10-18) October 18, 1985 (age 39)	18	0	Volyn Lutsk
5	2DF	Nikolay Bodurov	(1986-05-30) May 30, 1986 (age 38)	10	0	Litex Lovech
6	2DF	Yordan Minev	(1980-10-14) October 14, 1980 (age 44)	2	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
11	2DF	Ivan Bandalovski	(1986-11-23) November 23, 1986 (age 38)	7	0	CSKA Sofia
14	2DF	Veselin Minev	(1980-10-14) October 14, 1980 (age 44)	10	0	Antalyaspor
15	2DF	Ivan Ivanov	(1988-02-25) February 25, 1988 (age 36)	24	1	Partizan
20	2DF	Aleksandar Aleksandrov	(1986-04-13) April 13, 1986 (age 38)	0	0	Cherno More Varna

17	3MF	Georgi Milanov	(1992-02-19) February 19, 1992 (age 32)	3	0	Litex Lovech
18	3MF	Vladimir Gadzhev	(1987-07-18) July 18, 1987 (age 37)	8	0	Levski Sofia
21	3MF	Svetoslav Dyakov	(1984-05-31) May 31, 1984 (age 40)	3	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
22	3MF	Hristo Zlatinski	(1985-11-22) November 22, 1985 (age 39)	4	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
23	3MF	Emil Gargorov	(1981-02-15) February 15, 1981 (age 43)	13	1	Ludogorets Razgrad
24	3MF	Aleksandar Tonev	(1990-02-03) February 3, 1990 (age 34)	4	0	Lech Poznań
25	3MF	Boris Galchev	(1983-10-31) October 31, 1983 (age 41)	1	0	Dinamo Bucuresti
26	3MF	Stefan Velev	(1989-05-02) May 2, 1989 (age 35)	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora

7	4FW	Ivan Stoyanov	(1983-07-24) July 24, 1983 (age 41)	11	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
9	4FW	Ivelin Popov	(1987-10-26) October 26, 1987 (age 37)	31	6	Gaziantepspor
10	4FW	Valeri Bojinov	(1986-02-15) February 15, 1986 (age 38)	38	6	Sporting C.P.
19	4FW	Iliyan Mitsanski	(1985-12-20) December 20, 1985 (age 39)	3	1	FSV Frankfurt

Recent callups

The following players have also been called up to the Bulgarian squad within last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Nikolay Mihaylov	(1988-06-28) June 28, 1988 (age 36)	19	0	Twente	v. Netherlands, May 26, 2012^INJ
GK	Vladislav Stoyanov	(1987-06-08) June 8, 1987 (age 37)	4	0	Sheriff Tiraspol	v. Wales, October 11, 2011
GK	Ivan Karadzhov	(1989-07-12) July 12, 1989 (age 35)	0	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	v. Cyprus, March 29, 2011

DF	Georgi Terziev	(1992-04-18) April 18, 1992 (age 32)	2	0	Chernomorets Burgas	v. Netherlands, May 26, 2012^INJ
DF	Iliya Milanov	(1992-02-19) February 19, 1992 (age 32)	0	0	Litex Lovech	v. Netherlands, May 26, 2012^INJ
DF	Kostadin Stoyanov	(1985-05-08) May 8, 1985 (age 39)	10	0	CSKA Sofia	v. Wales, October 11, 2011
DF	Plamen Krachunov	(1989-01-11) January 11, 1989 (age 35)	0	0	CSKA Sofia	v. Wales, October 11, 2011
DF	Zhivko Milanov	(1984-07-15) July 15, 1984 (age 40)	23	0	Vaslui	v. Switzerland, September 6, 2011
DF	Aleksandar Tunchev	(1981-07-10) July 10, 1981 (age 43)	26	1	Leicester City	v. England, September 2, 2011
DF	Apostol Popov	(1982-12-22) December 22, 1982 (age 42)	1	0	CSKA Sofia	v. Belarus, August 11, 2011
DF	Rumen Trifonov	(1985-02-21) February 21, 1985 (age 39)	0	0	CSKA Sofia	v. Belarus, August 11, 2011^INJ

MF	Georgi Sarmov	(1985-09-07) September 7, 1985 (age 39)	4	0	Kasımpaşa	v. Netherlands, May 26, 2012
MF	Mihail Aleksandrov	(1989-06-11) June 11, 1989 (age 35)	0	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v. Hungary, February 29, 2012
MF	Aleksandar Tsvetkov	(1990-08-31) August 31, 1990 (age 34)	1	0	Litex Lovech	v. Wales, October 11, 2011
MF	Martin Petrov	(1979-01-15) January 15, 1979 (age 45)	89	19	Bolton Wanderers	v. Switzerland, September 6, 2011
MF	Chavdar Yankov	(1984-03-29) March 29, 1984 (age 40)	50	5	Slavia Sofia	v. Belarus, August 11, 2011
MF	Nikolay Dimitrov	(1987-10-15) October 15, 1987 (age 37)	8	0	Kasımpaşa	v. Belarus, August 11, 2011
MF	Hristo Yanev	(1979-05-04) May 4, 1979 (age 45)	11	3	Litex Lovech	v. Montenegro, June 4, 2011

FW	Tsvetan Genkov	(1984-02-08) February 8, 1984 (age 40)	18	0	Wisła Kraków	v. Netherlands, May 26, 2012
FW	Dimitar Rangelov	(1983-03-07) March 7, 1983 (age 41)	24	2	FC Luzern	v. Wales, October 11, 2011
FW	Spas Delev	(1989-09-22) September 22, 1989 (age 35)	5	0	Mersin İdmanyurdu SK	v. Wales, October 11, 2011
FW	Georgi Bozhilov	(1987-02-11) February 11, 1987 (age 37)	1	0	Cherno More Varna	v. England, September 2, 2011

Notes

^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

Bulgarian Coaching Staff

Head Coach	Lyuboslav Penev
Assistant Coach	Michial Madanski
Team Captain	Stiliyan Petrov

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup squads

UEFA European Football Championship squads

Recent Fixtures and Results

Date	Location	Home and Away Opponent	Score	Competition	Bulgaria scorers
3 March 2010	Warszawa,Poland	Poland	2-0	Friendly	Rangelov 30', Domovchiyski 81'
19 May 2010	Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1−2	Friendly	Popov 31'
24 May 2010	Johanesburg, South Africa	South Africa	1−1	Friendly	Bojinov 31'
3 September 2010	London, England	England	3−4	UEFA Euro 2012 Q	Bojinov 11' Popov 38' 86'
7 September 2010	Sofia, Bulgaria	Montenegro	1−0	UEFA Euro 2012 Q	Popov 75'
8 October 2010	Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1−0	UEFA Euro 2012 Q	Popov 48'
12 October 2010	Istanbul, Turkey	Saudi Arabia	2−0	Friendly	Rangelov 39', Domovchiyski 45'
17 November 2010	Sofia, Bulgaria	Serbia	1-1	Friendly	Domovchiyski 65'
9 February 2011	Antalya, Turkey	Estonia	2−2	Friendly	Popov 40' (pen.) 83' (pen.)
26 March 2011	Sofia, Bulgaria	Switzerland	0−0	UEFA Euro 2012 Q
29 March 2011	Larnaka, Cyprus	Cyprus	1−0	Friendly	Petrov 34'
2 September 2011	Sofia, Bulgaria	England	3−3	UEFA Euro 2012 Q	Petrov 24' Popov 58' Petrov 74'
29 February 2012	Győr, Hungary	Hungary	1−1	Friendly	Bojinov 87'
26 May 2012	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	2−1	Friendly	Popov 49' (pen.), Mitsanski 90+3'
29 May 2012	Salzburg, Austria	Turkey	0−2	Friendly
15 August 2012	Sofia, Bulgaria	Cyprus	1−0	Friendly	Mitsanski 66'
7 September 2012	Sofia, Bulgaria	Italy		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
11 September 2012	Sofia, Bulgaria	Armenia		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
12 October 2012	Sofia, Bulgaria	Denmark		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
12 October 2012		Czech Republic		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
22 March 2013	Sofia, Bulgaria	Malta		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
26 March 2013	Kopenhagen, Denmark	Denmark		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
6 September 2013		Italy		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
10 September 2013		Malta		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
11 October 2013		Armenia		2014 FIFA World Cup Q
15 October 2013	Sofia, Bulgaria	Czech Republic		2014 FIFA World Cup Q

Records

Olympic medal record
Men’s Football

Bulgaria
	Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Лъвовете (The Lions) ; Трикольорите ; (The Tricolors)
Association	Bulgarian Football Union
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Lyuboslav Penev
Captain	Stiliyan Petrov
Most caps	Stiliyan Petrov (126)
Top scorer	Dimitar Berbatov (48)
FIFA code	BUL
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	542
Highest	3 (June 1995)
Lowest	58 (August 2012)
First international
	Bulgaria 2–0 Austria ; (Vienna, Austria; 21 May 1924)
Biggest win
	Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana ; (Leon, Mexico; 14 October 1968)
Biggest defeat
	Bulgaria 1–9 Spain ; (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (first in 1930)
Best result	Semi-Finals, 1994
European Championship
Appearances	3 (first in 1968)
Best result	Quarter-Finals;1968 & Group Stage; 1996 & 2004

Player records

As of match played 11 October 2011. Players in bold are still currently playing for the national team.

Most appearances

#	Name	Pos.	Career	Caps	Goals	Average
1	Stiliyan Petrov	MF	1998–present	126	8	0.08
2	Borislav Mihaylov	GK	1983–1998	102	0	0.00
3	Hristo Bonev	FW	1967–1979	96	47	0.49
4	Krasimir Balakov	MF	1988–2003	92	16	0.17
5	Dimitar Penev	DF	1965–1974	90	2	0.02
6	Martin Petrov	MF	1999–present	89	19	0.21
7	Radostin Kishishev	DF	1996–2009	88	1	0.01
8	Hristo Stoichkov	FW	1986–1999	83	37	0.45
9	Nasko Sirakov	FW	1983–1996	82	23	0.28
10	Zlatko Yankov	MF	1989–1999	80	4	0.05
11	Ayan Sadakov	MF	1981–1991	79	9	0.11
12	Dimitar Berbatov	FW	1999–2010	77	48	0.62

Most goals

#	Player	Career	Goals	Caps	Average
1	Dimitar Berbatov	1999–2010	48	77	0.60
2	Hristo Bonev	1967–1979	47	96	0.49
3	Hristo Stoichkov	1987–1999	37	83	0.45
4	Emil Kostadinov	1988–1998	26	70	0.37
5	Petar Zhekov	1963–1972	25	44	0.57
6	Ivan Kolev	1950–1963	25	75	0.33
7	Atanas Mihaylov	1970–1981	23	45	0.51
8	Nasko Sirakov	1983–1996	23	82	0.28
9	Dimitar Milanov	1948–1959	20	39	0.51
10	Georgi Asparuhov	1962–1970	19	50	0.38
11	Dinko Dermendzhiev	1966–1977	19	58	0.33
12	Martin Petrov	1999–present	19	89	0.21

Head coaches

Stoyan Ormandzhiev 1963
Bella Volentik 1963-1964
Rudolf Vytlačil 1965–1966
Dobromir Tashkov 1966
Stefan Bozhkov 1967–1970
Vasil Spasov 1970–1972
Hristo Mladenov 1972–1974
Stoyan Ormandzhiev 1974–1977
Cvetan Ilchev 1978–1980
Atanas Purzhelov 1980–1982
Ivan Vutsov 1982–1986
Hristo Mladenov 1986–1987
Boris Angelov 1988–1989
Ivan Vutsov 1989–1991
Krasimir Borisov 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 2008
Stanimir Stoilov 2009–2010
Lothar Matthäus 2010-2011
Michail Madanski 2011
Luboslav Penev 2011-

External links

Sources

v t e Football in Bulgaria
League competitions	First League Second League Third League (4 divisions) Regional Groups Bulgarian Women's League
Cup competitions	Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Supercup Cup of AFL Bulgarian Women's Cup
Defunct competitions	State Championship (1924–1936, 1941–1945) Tsar's Cup (1924–44) National Football Division (1937–1940) Republic Championship (1945–1948) Cup of the Soviet Army (1983–90) BFU's Cup (1990–91) PFL's Cup (1994–97) Doubles Group (2008–2010) A Group (1948–2016)
National teams	Men Women Olympic team (U-23) Under-21 Under-19 Under-18 Under-17
Regional Amateur Football Groups	Blagoevgrad Burgas Dobrich Gabrovo Haskovo Kardzhali Kyustendil Lovech Montana Pazardzhik Pernik Pleven Plovdiv Razgrad Ruse Shumen Silistra Sliven Smolyan Sofia City Sofia (province) Stara Zagora Targovishte Varna Veliko Tarnovo Vidin Vratsa Yambol
Lists	Clubs Stadiums Foreign players National team results Clubs in European competitions Bulgarian club rivalries
Awards	Footballers' Footballer of the Year
BFU PFL

v t e International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline Most successful clubs
World (FIFA)	FIFA World Cup U-20 U-17 FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA Gold Cup Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games
Asia (AFC)	AFC Asian Cup U-23 U-20 U-17 AFC Challenge Cup AFC Solidarity Cup Asian Games Regional ASEAN CAFA EAFF SAFF WAFF Arabian Gulf Cup East Asian Games Far Eastern Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games West Asian Games
Africa (CAF)	CAF Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 CAF African Nations Championship African Games Regional CECAFA COSAFA UNIFFAC WAFU Central African Games Indian Ocean Island Games
North America (CONCACAF)	CONCACAF Gold Cup U-23 U-20 U-17 U-15 CONCACAF Championship CONCACAF Nations League CONCACAF Cup NAFC Championship CCCF Championship Central America and Caribbean Games Regional North American Nations Cup Copa Centroamericana CFU Championship Caribbean Cup LIFA Cup WIFA Cup Central America Games
South America (CONMEBOL)	CONMEBOL Copa América U-23 U-20 U-17 U-15 South American Games Regional Bolivarian Games
Oceania (OFC)	OFC Nations Cup U-23 U-19 U-17 Regional Melanesia Cup Polynesia Cup Pacific Games Pacific Mini Games
Europe (UEFA)	UEFA European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 UEFA Nations League Regional Central European Cup Balkan Cup Baltic Cup British Home Championship Nordic Championship
Inter-Continental	CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions CPF Panamerican Championship CAF-AFC Afro-Asian Cup of Nations AFC–OFC Challenge Cup FIFA Arab Cup Palestine Cup Kuneitra Cup Overseas Cup Afro-Asian Games Arab Games Francophone Games GANEFO Goodwill Games Islamic Games Islamic Solidarity Games Lusofonia Games Mediterranean Cup Mediterranean Games Pan American Games
Non-FIFA	CONIFA World Football Cup CONIFA European Football Cup CONIFA South America Football Cup CONIFA Africa Football Cup FIFI Wild Cup UIAFA Great European Tournament Island Games Micronesian Games Universiade World Unity Football Alliance
See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football