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Bulgaria national football team

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Bulgaria
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Лъвовете (The Lions)
AssociationBulgarian Football Union
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachVacant
CaptainIvelin Popov
Most capsStiliyan Petrov (105)
Top scorerDimitar Berbatov
Hristo Bonev (48)
Home stadiumVasil Levski National Stadium
FIFA codeBUL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 82 Steady (19 December 2024)[1]
Highest3 (June 1995)
Lowest96 (August 2012)
First international
 Austria 0–0 Bulgaria 
(Vienna, Austria; 21 May 1924)
Biggest win
 Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana 
(Leon, Mexico; 14 October 1968)
Biggest defeat
Spain  8–1 Bulgaria 
(Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1930)
Best resultSemi-Finals (1994)
Euro Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1968)
Best resultQuarter-Finals (1968)
Olympic Games
Appearances5 (first in 1924)
Best resultRunners-Up (1968)
Balkan Cup
Appearances12 (first in 1930)
Best resultChampions (1931, 1932, 1948, 1976)
Medal record
Olympics
Silver medal – second place 1968 Mexico Team
Bronze medal – third place 1956 Australia Team
Balkan Cup
Gold medal – first place 1931 Bulgaria Team
Gold medal – first place 1932 Yugoslavia Team
Gold medal – first place 1948 Bulgaria Team
Gold medal – first place 1976 Romania Team
Silver medal – second place 1935 Bulgaria Team
Silver medal – second place 1936 Romania Team
Bronze medal – third place 1933 Romania Team
Bronze medal – third place 1980 Turkey Team

The Bulgaria national football team (Template:Lang-bg) represents Bulgaria in international football, and is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home stadium is the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, and Krasimir Balakov is the current national team manager.

Their best achievements are reaching the final in the 1968 Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup semi-finals in 1994. They have also competed at the Balkan Cup winning four titles. However, Bulgaria has failed to qualify for any major tournament since 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 0–0 draw with Austria. Bulgaria also participated in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris a few days later.

1930 World Cup withdrawal

Bulgaria's first qualification to a World Cup was for the first World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay. The national team had to cancel their entry due to flight delays caused by tropical storms and hurricanes on the Atlantic Ocean. Their original group stage opponents were set as Brazil, Yugoslavia and Bolivia.

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 four times.

1960s and 1970s: Rising to prominence

Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup for the second 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 three out of the four times.

The team qualified for its first-ever UEFA European Championship in 1968 and went on to win their group with impressive wins over Norway (4–2), Sweden (3–0) and Portugal (1–0) before losing to eventual champions and hosts Italy in a two-legged quarter-final. Bulgaria won the first leg 3–2, but lost the second by a 2–0 score to lose 4–3 on aggregate. They remained the only team to have defeated the eventual champions, before their surprising quarter-final finish.

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 tournament two times already in 1931 and 1932, the Bulgaria national team added two more Balkan Cup 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 second world cup. 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 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.

1968 Euro Cup: Quarter-finals

After their poor World Cup performance, Bulgaria was determined to redeem themselves. Bulgaria was drawn in a very tough group 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 3–0 destruction of Sweden. Their final match determined who would win the group. Bulgaria went on to defeat Portugal by a 1–0 score, being undefeated group winners which qualified them to the two-legged quarterfinal. Bulgaria went on to face hosts Italy. The hosts were defeated 3–2, but won 2–0 in the second leg. Italy would go on to win the tournament, while Bulgaria were given the 5th-place ranking.

1968 Summer Olympics: Road to the final

A month and a half after the European Championship 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: The knockout rounds

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 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.

Stoichkov's reign of the Golden Generation

Hristo Stoichkov won the Ballon D'Or, World and European Golden Boots in 1994. His incredible style of play 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: Final four triumph

Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is 17 November 1993, a date where Emil Kostadinov scored two goals 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. 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 a penalty in which an Italian defender had clearly committed a handball in the box, off a Kostadinov cross.

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: Controversial quarter-final call

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: The Last Stand of the "Golden Team"

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 winners 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.

2000s

Euro 2000 qualification: The end of a legendary era

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 third with eight points and failed to make the final stages of Euro 2000.

Berbatov's era

2002 World Cup qualification: Beginning of the World Cup drought

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

Berbatov training with Bulgaria before 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.

2006 World Cup qualification: Failure

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 went on to the playoffs but drew the first match 1–1 along with losing their second match 2–0.

2010 World Cup qualification

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

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

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 earning 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: Continuation of the drought

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 cause 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.[3] This was followed by heavy losses to France (4–1) and Sweden (3–0).[4][5] In November 2016, the Lions beat Belarus in Sofia 1–0,[6] 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.[7] Bulgaria then beat the group leaders Sweden 3–2 in Sofia to move one point behind their opponents in the table.[8] 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.[9]

2020 Euro Cup qualification and Nations League: Play-Offs

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.[10] They later carried on with two more losses which sparked the end of their group campaign. The national side, although, still has a high chance of qualifying to the 2020 Euros through the Nations League playoffs despite their 4th place position in Group A.

The four best teams in League C according to the overall ranking that have not qualified for UEFA Euro 2020 through the qualifying group stage will compete in the play-offs, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament. If there are fewer than four teams in League C that have not qualified, the remaining slots are allocated to the next best ranked team, in this case, Bulgaria goes through to the playoffs.

League C
Rank Team
25 GW  Scotland[H]
26 GW  Norway
27 GW  Serbia
28 GW  Finland
29  Bulgaria
30  Israel
31  Hungary[H]
32  Romania[H]
33  Greece
34  Albania
35  Montenegro
36  Cyprus
37  Estonia
38  Slovenia
39  Lithuania

Key

  1. GW Nations League group winner
  2. H UEFA Euro 2020 host at the time of the draw
  3.   Team advanced to play-offs
  4.   Team qualified directly to final tournament

Team image

Traditionally the Bulgarian squad plays at home entirely in the colours of the Bulgarian tri-color. Their nickname is The Lions, in tribute of the lions represented in the coat of arms of Bulgaria.

Ultras and racism

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.[11] The BFU denied that racism would be an issue during Euro 2020 qualifiers, claming that the issue was worse in England.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin condemed the alleged abuse calling on the "football family and governments" to "wage war on the racists".[15] Disciplinary proceedings have been launched against both Bulgaria and England.[16]

Stadium

Vasil Levski National Stadium

Normally, the Bulgarian national football team's home stadium is the Vasil Levski National Stadium with a capacity of 45,000. 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. The Bulgarian national team's home matches and the Bulgarian Cup finals are held at the venue, as well as athletics competitions.



Competition history

  Champions    Runners-up    Semi-finals  

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup Record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay1930 Withdrew 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chile 1962 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 1 7
England 1966 Group stage 12th 3 0 0 3 1 8
Mexico 1970 Group stage 12th 3 0 1 2 5 9
West Germany 1974 Group stage 11th 3 0 2 1 2 5
Mexico 1986 Round of 16 10th 4 0 2 2 2 6
United States 1994 Semi-finals 4th 7 3 1 3 10 11
France 1998 Group Stage 22nd 3 0 1 2 1 7
Qatar 2022 To be determined
Total 7/21 26 3 8 15 22 53

Euro Cup Record

UEFA Euro Cup Record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
Italy 1968 Quarter-Finals 5th 5 4 0 1 8 6
England 1996 Group Stage 9th 3 1 1 1 3 4
Portugal 2004 Group Stage 14th 3 0 0 3 1 9
Europe 2020 To Be Determined
Total 3/14 10 5 1 5 16 19

Olympic record

Olympic Record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
France 1924 Round of 16 12th 1 0 0 1 0 1
Finland 1952 Round of 16 13th 1 0 0 1 1 2
Australia 1956 Semi-finals 3rd 3 2 0 1 10 3
Italy 1960 Group stage 8th 3 2 1 0 8 3
Mexico 1968 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 2 1 16 10
Japan 2020 To be determined
Total 5/23 14 7 3 4 35 19

Balkan Cup record

Balkan Cup Record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
Romania 1930 Group Stage 4th 6 2 0 4 10 19
Bulgaria 1931 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 8 3
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1932 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 7 2
Romania 1933 Semi-finals 3rd 3 1 0 2 2 11
Greece 1934 Group Stage 4th 3 1 0 2 7 8
Bulgaria 1935 Runners-Up 2nd 3 2 1 0 12 5
Romania 1936 Runners-up 2nd 2 1 0 2 6 8
Albania 1946 Group stage 4th 2 0 1 2 4 7
Hungary 1947 Group stage 4th 4 1 0 3 5 14
Bulgaria 1948 Champions 1st 5 2 1 2 6 7
Romania 1976 Champions 1st 4 2 0 2 9 9
Turkey 1980 Semi-finals 3rd 4 1 1 2 4 8
Total 12/12 41 19 4 19 80 101

Honours

Recent Results

Main article: Bulgaria national football team results

  Win   Draw   Loss

16 October 2018 (2018-10-16) UEFA Nations League Norway  1−0  Bulgaria Oslo, Norway
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Elyounoussi 31' Report Stadium: Ullevaal Stadium
Attendance: 9,523
Referee: John Beaton (Scotland)
16 November 2018 (2018-11-16) UEFA Nations League Cyprus  1−1  Bulgaria Nicosia, Cyprus
20:45
(21:45 UTC+2)		 Zachariou 24' Report N. Dimitrov 89' (pen.) Stadium: GSP Stadium
Attendance: 3,844
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden)
19 November 2018 (2018-11-19) UEFA Nations League Bulgaria  1−1  Slovenia Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45
(21:45 UTC+2)		 Ivanov 68' Report Zajc 75' Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium
Attendance: 3,092
Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (Turkey)
22 March 2019 (2019-03-22) UEFA Euro 2020 Q Bulgaria  1−1  Montenegro Sofia, Bulgaria
18:00
(19:00 UTC+2)		 Nedelev 82' (pen.) Report Mugoša 50' Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium
Attendance: 5,652
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)
25 March 2019 (2019-03-25) UEFA Euro 2020 Q Kosovo  1−1  Bulgaria Pristina, Kosovo
20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)		 Zeneli 61' Report Bozhikov 39' Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium
Attendance: 12,580
Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (Lithuania)
7 June 2019 (2019-06-07) UEFA Euro 2020 Q Czech Republic  2–1  Bulgaria Prague, Czech Republic
20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)		 Schick 20', 50' Report Isa 3' Stadium: Stadion Letná
Attendance: 13,482
Referee: Tamás Bognar (Hungary)
10 June 2019 (2019-06-10) UEFA Euro 2020 Q Bulgaria  2–3  Kosovo Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 I. Popov 43'
K. Dimitrov 55'		 Report Rashica 14'
Muriqi 64'
Rashani 90+3'		 Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium
Attendance: 4,994
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (Denmark)
7 September 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 Q England  4–0  Bulgaria London, England
18:00
(17:00 UTC+1)		 Kane 24', 50' (pen.), 73' (pen.)
Sterling 55'		 Report Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 82,605
Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)
10 September 2019 (2019-09-10) Friendly Republic of Ireland  3–1  Bulgaria Dublin, Republic of Ireland
20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)		 Browne 56'
Long 83'
Collins 86'		 Report I. Popov 67' (pen.) Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 18,259
Referee: Tobias Welz (Germany)
11 October 2019 (2019-10-11) UEFA Euro 2020 Q Montenegro  0–0  Bulgaria Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Report Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
Attendance: 3,012
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (Sweden)
14 October 2019 (2019-10-14) UEFA Euro 2020 Q Bulgaria  0–6  England Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Report Rashford 7'
Barkley 20', 32'
Sterling 45+3', 69'
Kane 85'		 Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
14 November 2019 (2019-11-14) Friendly Bulgaria  v  Haiti Sofia, Bulgaria
Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium
17 November 2019 (2019-11-17) UEFA Euro 2020 Q Bulgaria  v  Czech Republic Sofia, Bulgaria
18:00
(19:00 UTC+2)		 Report Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

Ranking history

See also: FIFA World Rankings
Rank Date
Best Rank 3 June 1995
Current Rank 62 September 2019
Worst Rank 96 May 2012
  • FIFA-ranking yearly averages for Bulgaria (1993–2019)[17]
As of 25 July 2019

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Montenegro and England on 11 and 14 October 2019.[18]
Caps and goals as of 14 October 2019 after the match against England.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
13 1GK Nikolay Mihaylov (1988-06-28) 28 June 1988 (age 36) 37 0 Bulgaria Levski Sofia
23 1GK Plamen Iliev (1991-11-30) 30 November 1991 (age 33) 16 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
1 1GK Hristo Ivanov (1982-04-06) 6 April 1982 (age 42) 1 0 Bulgaria Etar Veliko Tarnovo
3 2DF Petar Zanev (1985-10-18) 18 October 1985 (age 39) 41 0 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia
14 2DF Anton Nedyalkov (1993-04-30) 30 April 1993 (age 31) 14 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
15 2DF Georgi Terziev (1992-04-18) 18 April 1992 (age 32) 12 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
5 2DF Kristian Dimitrov (1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 27) 5 1 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv
20 2DF Ivan Goranov (1992-06-10) 10 June 1992 (age 32) 4 0 Bulgaria Levski Sofia
4 2DF Georgi Pashov (1990-03-04) 4 March 1990 (age 34) 3 0 Armenia Ararat-Armenia
21 2DF Kamen Hadzhiev (1991-09-22) 22 September 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Hungary Puskás Akadémia
6 2DF Deyan Lozev (1993-10-26) 26 October 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Bulgaria Arda Kardzhali
7 3MF Georgi Kostadinov (1990-09-07) 7 September 1990 (age 34) 21 3 Russia Arsenal Tula
8 3MF Georgi Sarmov (1985-09-07) 7 September 1985 (age 39) 15 0 Germany Chemnitzer FC
12 3MF Bozhidar Kraev (1997-06-23) 23 June 1997 (age 27) 12 2 Portugal Gil Vicente
17 3MF Marcelinho (1984-08-24) 24 August 1984 (age 40) 9 2 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
18 3MF Galin Ivanov (1988-04-15) 15 April 1988 (age 36) 9 1 Bulgaria Slavia Sofia
16 3MF Kristiyan Malinov (1994-03-30) 30 March 1994 (age 30) 9 0 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia
9 3MF Wanderson (1988-01-02) 2 January 1988 (age 37) 4 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
2 3MF Vasil Panayotov (1990-07-16) 16 July 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Bulgaria Cherno More Varna
10 4FW Ivelin Popov (Captain) (1987-10-26) 26 October 1987 (age 37) 88 16 Russia Rostov
11 4FW Kiril Despodov (1996-11-11) 11 November 1996 (age 28) 10 1 Austria Sturm Graz
19 4FW Ismail Isa (1989-06-26) 26 June 1989 (age 35) 4 1 Bulgaria Cherno More Varna
22 4FW Bircent Karagaren (1992-12-06) 6 December 1992 (age 32) 1 0 Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv

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 Martin Lukov (1993-07-05) 5 July 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv v.  Republic of Ireland, 10 September 2019
GK Dimitar Evtimov (1993-09-07) 7 September 1993 (age 31) 0 0 England Accrington Stanley v.  Kosovo, 25 March 2019
GK Blagoy Makendzhiev (1988-07-11) 11 July 1988 (age 36) 0 0 Bulgaria Dunav Ruse v.  Kosovo, 25 March 2019
GK Georgi Petkov (1976-03-14) 14 March 1976 (age 48) 18 0 Bulgaria Slavia Sofia v.  Slovenia, 19 November 2018
DF Strahil Popov (1990-08-31) 31 August 1990 (age 34) 27 0 Turkey Kasımpaşa v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2019INJ
DF Vasil Bozhikov (1988-06-02) 2 June 1988 (age 36) 25 1 Slovakia Slovan Bratislava v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2019INJ
DF Nikolay Bodurov (1986-05-30) 30 May 1986 (age 38) 50 2 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia v.  Republic of Ireland, 10 September 2019
DF Ivan Bandalovski (1986-11-23) 23 November 1986 (age 38) 19 0 Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
DF Viktor Genev (1988-10-27) 27 October 1988 (age 36) 0 0 Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
DF Krum Stoyanov (1991-08-01) 1 August 1991 (age 33) 0 0 Bulgaria Etar Veliko Tarnovo v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
DF Ivan TuritsovU21 (1999-07-18) 18 July 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia v.  Czech Republic, 7 June 2019INJ
DF Valentin AntovU21 (2000-11-09) 9 November 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia v.  Kosovo, 25 March 2019
DF Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski (1995-08-01) 1 August 1995 (age 29) 8 0 Romania FCSB v.  Slovenia, 19 November 2018
MF Georgi Milanov (1992-02-19) 19 February 1992 (age 32) 42 2 Hungary Fehérvár v.  Republic of Ireland, 10 September 2019
MF Nikolay Dimitrov (1987-10-15) 15 October 1987 (age 37) 11 1 Russia Ural Yekaterinburg v.  Republic of Ireland, 10 September 2019
MF Todor Nedelev (1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 31) 25 2 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
MF Georgi Iliev (1981-09-05) 5 September 1981 (age 43) 24 2 Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
MF Yanis Karabelyov (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Bulgaria Slavia Sofia v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
MF Antonio Vutov (1996-06-06) 6 June 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv v.  Kosovo, 25 March 2019
MF Ivaylo Chochev (1993-02-18) 18 February 1993 (age 31) 18 3 Italy Pescara v.  Montenegro, 22 March 2019INJ
MF Martin Raynov (1992-04-25) 25 April 1992 (age 32) 7 0 Bulgaria Levski Sofia v.  Slovenia, 19 November 2018
MF Aleksandar Tsvetkov (1990-08-31) 31 August 1990 (age 34) 2 0 Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora v.  Slovenia, 19 November 2018
MF Svetoslav KovachevU21 (1998-03-14) 14 March 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Bulgaria Etar Veliko Tarnovo v.  Slovenia, 19 November 2018
MF Borislav Tsonev (1995-04-29) 29 April 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Croatia Inter Zaprešić v.  Norway, 16 October 2018INJ
FW Daniel Mladenov (1987-05-25) 25 May 1987 (age 37) 2 0 Bulgaria Etar Veliko Tarnovo v.  Republic of Ireland, 10 September 2019
FW Martin MinchevU21 (2001-04-22) 22 April 2001 (age 23) 3 0 Bulgaria Cherno More Varna v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
FW Tsvetelin Chunchukov (1994-12-26) 26 December 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Bulgaria Slavia Sofia v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
FW Stanislav IvanovU21 (1999-04-16) 16 April 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Bulgaria Levski Sofia v.  Kosovo, 10 June 2019
FW Stanislav Kostov (1991-10-02) 2 October 1991 (age 33) 3 0 Bulgaria Levski Sofia v.  Czech Republic, 7 June 2019INJ
FW Spas Delev (1989-09-22) 22 September 1989 (age 35) 24 2 Bulgaria Arda Kardzhali v.  Kosovo, 25 March 2019
FW Radoslav Kirilov (1992-06-29) 29 June 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Bulgaria Slavia Sofia v.  Kosovo, 25 March 2019
FW Radoslav Vasilev (1990-10-12) 12 October 1990 (age 34) 6 1 Bulgaria Arda Kardzhali v.  Montenegro, 22 March 2019
Notes
  • INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury.
  • U21 = Not part of the squad due to U-21 call up.

Coaching staff

Krasimir Balakov, the current manager of the Bulgaria national football team.
Role Name
Head coach Vacant
Assistant coach(es) Vacant
Goalkeeping coach Vacant
Sport analysis Vacant

Previous squads

Player records

Most goals

Dimitar Berbatov is Bulgaria's all-time top scorer with 48 goals.
# Player Career Goals Caps Average
1 Dimitar Berbatov 1999–2010 48 78 0.60
2 Hristo Bonev 1967–1979 48 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 1999–2013 19 89 0.21

Most appearances

Stiliyan Petrov is Bulgaria's most capped player with 105 appearances
# Player Career Caps Goals Average
1 Stiliyan Petrov 1998–2013 105 8 0.08
2 Borislav Mihaylov 1983–1998 102 0 0.00
3 Hristo Bonev 1967–1979 96 48 0.49
4 Krasimir Balakov 1988–2003 92 16 0.17
5 Dimitar Penev 1965–1974 90 2 0.02
6 Martin Petrov 1999–2013 89 19 0.21
7 Radostin Kishishev 1996–2009 88 1 0.01
= Ivelin Popov 2007– 88 16 0.17
9 Hristo Stoichkov 1986–1999 83 37 0.45
10 Nasko Sirakov 1983–1996 82 23 0.28
11 Ayan Sadakov 1981–1991 80 9 0.11
= Zlatko Yankov 1989–1999 80 4 0.05

International match records

As of 14 October 2019 after match against  England[19]

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

  1. ^ Includes matches against  Czechoslovakia.
  2. ^ Includes matches against  West Germany.
  3. ^ Includes matches against the  Soviet Union.
  4. ^ Includes matches against  Yugoslavia and  Serbia and Montenegro.

Head coaches

See also

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 5 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Bulgaria-Luxembourg - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  4. ^ "France-Bulgaria - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  5. ^ "Sweden-Bulgaria - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  6. ^ "Bulgaria-Belarus - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  7. ^ "Bulgaria-Netherlands - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  8. ^ "Bulgaria-Sweden - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  9. ^ "Netherlands-Bulgaria - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  10. ^ "Bulgaria-Montenegro - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  11. ^ Fifield, Dominic (18 November 2011). "Bulgaria fined by Uefa after racist chanting against England". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  12. ^ Aarons, Ed (13 October 2019). "Bulgaria's Krasimir Balakov says English game has more of an issue with racism". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Bulgaria v England: Euro 2020 qualifier halted twice due to racist behaviour from fans". BBC News. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Bulgaria v England: Police arrest six following racist abuse at Euro qualifier". 16 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Bulgaria v England: 'Football family' must 'wage war on the racists' says Uefa president". 15 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Bulgaria v England: 'Football family' must 'wage war on the racists' says Uefa president". 15 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  17. ^ "FIFA-ranking yearly averages for Bulgaria". Fifa.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Състав на България "А" за европейските квалификации срещу Черна гора и Англия" [Squad of Bulgaria A for the European qualifiers against Montenegro and England] (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 30 September 2019.
  19. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Bulgaria". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
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