Bulgaria national football team

Bulgaria

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Лъвовете (The Lions)
Association	Bulgarian Football Union
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Petar Hubchev
Captain	Ivelin Popov
Most caps	Stiliyan Petrov (106)
Top scorer	Dimitar Berbatov (48)
Home stadium	Vasil Levski Stadium
FIFA code	BUL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	54 6 (6 July 2017)
Highest	3 (June 1995)
Lowest	96 (August 2012)
First international
Bulgaria 0–0 Austria (Vienna, Austria; 21 May 1924)
Biggest win
Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana (Leon, Mexico; 14 October 1968)
Biggest defeat
Bulgaria 1–8 Spain (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (first in 1930)
Best result	Semi-Finals: 1994
Euro Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 1968)
Best result	Quarter-Finals: 1968
Olympics
Appearances	5 (first in 1924)
Best result	Runners-Up: 1968

Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
	1968 Mexico City	Team
	1956 Melbourne	Team

The FIFA Bulgaria national football team (Bulgarian: Национален отбор по футбол на България) is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home stadium is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Petar Hubchev is the current 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, controversially losing to Italy. Although defeating strong top ranked teams in many international friendlies throughout the years, the team's strength has slowly diminished, failing to qualify for any major tournament since 2004.

History

The Beginning

The Bulgaria national team was founded in 1922. In 1923, the Bulgarian Football Union was established and the team's first match was held in Vienna on 21 May 1924, against Austria a 6–0 defeat. The result was not surprising since Austria was at that time an avangarde of the Central–European school which dominated football in that period. To bring Bulgaria closer to that level, the Bulgarian FA has brought Austrian coaches Nitsch and Stejskal in the 1920s, and Hungarians Nemes, Fogl and German Feist in the 1930s.

Bulgaria was invited to participate in the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay, but eventually rejected the invitation because the players were incapable of having an extended leave of absence from work.

1930 to 1960

The Bulgarian team at this time could not progress in qualifying for any major tournaments from 1930 to 1960. They would end up finishing, on many occasions, in second or third place in their qualifying group and proceeding to the play-offs, but in the end, failing to qualify. Bulgaria, however, did defeat many strong teams in international games during those years. The only tournaments they were able to qualify for were smaller tournaments, such as the Balkan Cup, which they have won four times. They qualified for the World Cup for the second time in 1962

1960s and 1970s

Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1962 and followed that up with consecutive appearances in 1966, 1970 and 1974. The team, however finished third in their group three out of the four times.

At the 1968 Summer Olympics, the team won the silver medal. They finished first in Group D by beating Thailand 7–0, Guatemala 2–1, and drawing 2–2 against Czechoslovakia. They advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Israel and the semifinals by beating host Mexico. In the final, the team was defeated by Hungary.

In 1976, the team won the Balkan Cup by beating Romania in the two-legged final 1–0 and 3–2.

1962 World Cup

Bulgaria finally qualified to their first international tournament, the 1962 world cup, and this would be the first time that they qualified, after not doing so for 32 years. Bulgaria was placed in a group alongside England, Argentina and Hungary. Bulgaria would open up their campaign with a narrow 0–1 loss to Argentina then would lose their second match 1–6 to Hungary. Mathematically eliminated from progressing to the next round, Bulgaria drew England 0–0 to finish fourth in the group with only one point.

1966 World Cup

Bulgaria would qualify for their second World Cup in 1966. They were placed in a group, alongside Hungary, Portugal and a Pelé-led Brazil. Bulgaria would open their campaign match with a 0–2 loss to Brazil thanks to two free-kick goals by Pelé and Garrincha. Later on, Bulgaria would lose 0–3 to the Eusébio-led Portugal, then lost again to Hungary (1–3). They would finish fourth in their group zero points earned.

1968 Summer Olympics

A month-and-a-half after the Euro came the Olympics, which Bulgaria had qualified for the fifth time in their history. They were drawn in a group with Thailand, Guatemala and Czechoslovakia. Bulgaria began with a 7–0 win over Thailand. They would later go on and draw with Czechoslovakia 2–2. Their final match would determine if they would go on to the quarterfinals. Bulgaria defeated Guatemala 2–1 and win their first round Olympic group. They passed on to the Quarterfinals to face Israel. That game would remain 1–1 for most of the match until a drawing of lots determined who would go to the semi-finals of the tournament. Bulgaria won the draw and advanced to play Mexico. They won in overtime with a 3–2 victory. Bulgaria advanced to the finals for the first time in their Olympic history. They then suffered a 1–4 loss to Hungary. Bulgaria won the silver medal in the end.

1970 World Cup

Bulgaria qualified for their third-straight World Cup in 1970, held in Mexico. They were drawn in a group with Western Germany, Peru, and Morocco. Playing their first match against Peru, Bulgaria were leading 2–0 until near the end when the Peruvians came back to win Peru 2–3. In the second match, Bulgaria would fall to West Germany 5–2, ensuring Bulgaria would need to defeat Morocco to progress to the next round. A 1–1 draw, however, resulted in a third-place group finish and elimination from the tournament.

1974 World Cup

Four years later, in Germany, Bulgaria would qualify for their fourth-straight World Cup. They were drawn in a group with the Netherlands, Sweden and Uruguay. Bulgaria would start off with Sweden and after 90 minutes the game would remain goalless in a 0–0 draw. Although no goals, Bulgaria were down set from the disallowed goal they scored, that was ruled offside by the side referee. Later on, Bulgaria tied with Uruguay 1–1. Bulgaria remained in contention; all they needed to do was tie against the Netherlands. As the final match came, Bulgaria fell by a 1–4 score. The Netherlands scored all the goals including an own goal for Bulgaria. Bulgaria remained in 3rd place in the group and did not move on to the next round.

The 1980s and 1990s

1986 World Cup

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 an 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.

1994 World Cup: Final Four Triumph

File:Stoiko muzeum.jpg

The retired jersey and Ballon D'or of Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov. Considered Bulgaria's all-time Greatest Player, Stoichkov led his team to a 1994 World Cup Final Four Finish alongside winning the European Golden Boot.

On 17 November 1993, Emil Kostadinov scored two goals to beat France in Paris, thus allowing Bulgaria to qualify for the World Cup in the United States in 1994, and disallowing France to qualify for that tournament. Under the management of Dimitar Penev, the team led by players such as Hristo Stoichkov, Yordan Lechkov and Krasimir Balakov was referred to as the "Golden Generation". They entered Group D with Argentina, Nigeria and Greece. Prior to 1994, the Bulgarians had not won a single match in the previous five World Cup finals appearances. The first match ended with a 3–0 defeat by Nigeria in Dallas. Later, the team won 4–0 against World Cup-debuting Greece in Chicago and 2–0 against Argentina in Dallas. Bulgaria continued to the next round, where they faced Mexico at Giants Stadium just outside New York City. 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 saved two penalty kicks and Bulgaria won 3–1 on penalties. In their quarter-final match, again in New York City, Bulgaria faced defending World Cup champions Germany. Lothar Matthäus scored in a penalty kick. The Bulgarians, however, managed to turn the game over with two goals by Stoichkov and Yordan Lechkov, giving them a 2–1 win. Millions of Bulgarians celebrated this win in the Bulgarian capital city of Sofia and other Bulgarian cities. In their semi-final match again in New York, they lost 2–1 to Italy. Bulgaria then traveled across the country and three time zones to the Pasadena Rose Bowl just outside Los Angeles to play Sweden, who did not have to travel because their semi-final match against Brazil had been held in the Rose Bowl. Sweden beat Bulgaria 4–0, so the team finished the tournament in 4th place. Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot (along with Russia's Oleg Salenko) for scoring six goals and finishing as joint top goal scorer of the tournament. Later in December, Stoitchkov was awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or, becoming the first ever Bulgarian to win it. Krasimir Balakov was named in the all-star team along with Stoichkov.

European Football Championship 1996

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 volley by Stoitchkov. After losing against Spain, Bulgaria went on to a 1–0 win against Romania. Stoitchkov scoring in the third minute adding a second goal to the list. In the final group match, they lost 3–1 against France, Stoitchkov scoring from a free kick to give Bulgaria there only goal of the game. At the same time, Spain defeated Romania 2–1 with the winning goal coming in the 84th minute, and the Bulgarians subsequently failed to qualify for the quarter-finals.

1998 World Cup

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 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 offside 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.

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group D

2000 Euro Cup qualification

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.

New millennium

Berbatov training with Bulgaria Right Before Euro 2004

2002 World Cup qualification: Beginning of a drought

Bulgaria, Denmark, and Czech Republic were among the main contenders for the qualifying spots. This is also the debut of Bulgaria's top scoring player 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 off with a defeat by Sweden, followed by a 2–0 defeat by Denmark. The last match against Italy was a 2–1 defeat. Near the end of the match, the score was 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.

2006 World Cup qualification: Failure

Bulgaria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany after a run of poor results. They began with a win over Hungary and "weaker" teams in the group. They tied with Sweden and Croatia the first run but lost the other meetings to the two sides. Although Berbatov scored many key goals in the qualifier including a last minute equaliser against Croatia, Bulgaria finished third in Group Eight, behind Sweden and Croatia with 15 points.

2006 Kirin Cup

Although not making it to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Bulgaria found themselves in a minor tournament in Japan, known as the Kirin Cup, which Bulgaria entered for the first time. They started off well with a 2–1 victory over the hosts Japan. Later, they lost 5–1 to Scotland, the eventual champions of the Kirin Cup. Bulgaria became the Runners Up and received the silver medal.

2008 European qualification: Near miss

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 tenth minute and lose the second 2–0. Bulgaria failed to qualify to the competition, finishing with 25 points, after Romania and the Netherlands, with only one lost match against the Dutch.

2010 World Cup qualification: Close call

The Bulgaria National Football Team in 2010

Bulgaria were drawn against Italy and the Republic of Ireland in qualifying Group Eight. Bulgaria started the campaign with a series of draws in the 2010 qualifiers. 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. Bulgarian top scorer Berbatov resigned from the national side after this result.

Era of Decline

2012 European qualification: Upset

The Bulgaria National Team in 2012

Bulgaria were drawn in Group G along with England, Switzerland, Wales and Montenegro. Bulgaria started off horribly with an opening away loss to England. They later on drew level with Switzerland along with defeating Wales and Montenegro. However, Bulgaria finished fifth in their group reaching their nadir in their football history, marking the fourth instance during 2000s that the nation had failed to finish in third (or better).

2014 World Cup Qualification

In the qualification phase for the 2014 FIFA World Cup 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 2–1 victory over 2010 World Cup runners-up Netherlands in Amsterdam. The qualifications started with a 2–2 draw against the Euro 2012 runners-up Italy. Bulgaria then defeated Armenia, which ended 1–0. Later on Bulgaria drew 1–1 against Denmark. Four days later, Bulgaria earned a 0–0 draw away against the Czech Republic. As a result of these performances, the team climbed from 96th in the FIFA Ranking, their lowest position in history, to 40th in November 2012, earning FIFA best mover of the year. Penev's players hosted and defeated Malta 6–0 under heavy snowfall. Four days later, Bulgaria once again set a draw with Denmark 1–1 in Copenhagen. This result left Bulgaria second in the group with ten points and still undefeated. Bulgaria traveled to Italy, a game where they lost 1–0. Further on, the lions secured three more points with a 2–0 away win against Malta. After that Bulgaria was defeated by Armenia 2–1 and the Czech Republic 1–0 at home.

2016 Euro Cup 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, which was followed by a 2–1 defeat to Norway. Bulgaria then drew with Malta 1–1 at home, but this cost Head Coach Lyuboslav Penev his position and he was replaced by former Ludogorets Razgrad Coach Ivaylo Petev. In his debut match in February 2015, Petev's squad drew Romania 0–0 in a friendly, which was then followed at the end of March by a 2–2 qualifier match draw with Italy, a match which Bulgaria had led till the 84th minute. In June, Bulgaria defeated Malta 1–0 to move within 2 points of the third place playoff position. They then, however, lost their next three matches against Norway, Italy and Croatia before winning their final match 2–0 over Azerbaijan, thus failing to qualify for the finals tournament.

2018 World Cup qualification

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group A

Bulgaria have been drawn in a World Cup qualification group with Netherlands, France and Sweden, Belarus and Luxembourg. Bulgaria has already had a recent meeting with the Netherlands within the year 2013 in which Bulgaria came out on top with a 2–1 victory. Bulgaria has also had a 100 percent record history against Luxembourg while recently defeating Belarus 2–1 in a friendly in 2014. To add to this aspect, the last time Bulgaria was drawn within a world cup qualification group with Sweden and France was in 1994. Bulgaria drew level with Sweden once, and defeated France twice, decisively, to reach the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. where Bulgaria reached its all-time high of going to the Semi-finals. Bulgaria has luckily drawn Luxembourg at home for their first match in September. This will give them the brief opportunity to re-group hoping to earn an early victory. This can lead the team on to starting off their qualifying campaign on a very positive level at the top of the group while building momentum overtime for when the time comes to face the stronger and tougher opponents. In the beginning, Bulgaria earned a hard-fought 4-3 win against Luxembourg at home, a frustrating scoreline despite the victory. It was followed by two heavy 1-4 and 0-3 losses to France and Sweden, respectively. In November 2016, the Lions secured the three points against Belarus in Sofia with a narrow 1-0 win. On Matchday 5, the Bulgarian team put up arguably its' best performance in recent years, beating the Netherlands 2-0, thus claiming the 3rd spot in the group.

Team image

Colours

The Bulgarian Tri-Color Flag

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

Kit suppliers

Kit Provider	Period
Tomy Sport	1922–1988
adidas	1988–1996
Puma	1996–2010
Kappa	2010–2014
Joma	2014–

Historical Kits

Throughout the football nation's sartorial history, the outfield players wore equipment with the following color patterns of white, green or red signifying the Bulgarian flag.

Home Kits

1922-1950

1950-1985

1985-1993

1993-1995

1995-1998

1998-2000

2004-2007

2007-2009

2009-2011

2011–2012

2012–2014

Away Kits

1922–1950

1950-1985

1985–1993

1993–1995

1995-1998

1998-2000

2004-2007

2007-2009

2009-2011

2011–2012

2012–2014

National Stadium

The 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 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.

Competition History

  Champions    Runners-Up    Semi-Finals    Other Top Results  

World Cup Record

FIFA World Cup Record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Qualified-Withdrew	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1934-1958	Years of International Wilderness
1962	Group Stage	13th	3	0	1	2	1	7
1966	Group Stage	12th	3	0	0	3	1	8
1970	Group Stage	12th	3	0	1	2	5	9
1974	Group Stage	11th	3	0	2	1	2	5
1986	Round of 16	10th	4	0	2	2	2	6
1994	Semi-Finals	4th	7	5	0	2	12	7
1998	Group Stage	22nd	3	0	1	2	1	7
2018	To Be Determined
2022	To Be Determined
Total		7/22	26	5	7	15	20	53

Euro Cup Record

UEFA Euro Cup Record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1968	Quarter-Finals	5th	5	4	0	1	8	6
1996	Group Stage	9th	3	1	1	1	3	4
2004	Group Stage	14th	3	0	0	3	1	9
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
1924	Round of 16	12th	1	0	0	1	0	1
1952	Round of 16	13th	1	0	0	1	1	2
1956	Semi-Finals	3rd	3	2	0	1	10	3
1960	Group Stage	8th	3	2	1	0	8	3
1968	Runners-Up	2nd	6	3	2	1	16	10
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
1930	Group Stage	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	Semi-Finals	3rd	3	1	0	2	2	11
1934	Group Stage	4th	3	1	0	2	7	8
1935	Runners-Up	2nd	3	2	1	0	12	5
1936	Runners-Up	2nd	2	1	0	2	6	8
1946	Group Stage	4th	2	0	1	2	4	7
1947	Group Stage	4th	4	1	0	3	5	14
1948	Champions	1st	5	2	1	2	6	7
1976	Champions	1st	4	2	0	2	9	9
1980	Semi-Finals	3rd	4	1	1	2	4	8
Total		12/12	41	19	4	19	80	101

Honours

Competition				Total
World Cup	0	0	1	1
Euro Cup	0	0	0	0
Olympics	0	1	1	2
Balkan Cup	4	2	2	8
Total	4	3	4	11

• FIFA World Cup
  • Semi-Finals (1): 1994
• UEFA Euro Cup
  • Quarter-Finals (1): 1968
• Olympic Tournament
  • Runners-up (1): 1968
  • Third place (1): 1956
• Balkan Cup
  • Winners (4): 1931, 1932, 1935, 1976
  • Runners-up (2): 1935, 1936
  • Third place (2) : 1933, 1980

Recent Results

  Win   Draw   Loss

Bulgaria v Belarus

13 November 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	1 – 0	Belarus	Sofia, Bulgaria
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)	Popov 10'			Stadium: Vasil Levski Stadium Attendance: 1,994 Referee: Stephan Klossner (Switzerland)

Bulgaria v Netherlands

25 March 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	2 – 0	Netherlands	Sofia, Bulgaria
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)	Delev 5', 20'	Report (UEFA)		Stadium: Vasil Levski Stadium Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

Belarus v Bulgaria

9 June 2017 (2017-06-09) FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Belarus	2 – 1	Bulgaria	Barysaw, Belarus
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Sivakow 33' (pen.) Savitski 80'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Kostadinov 90+1'	Stadium: Borisov Arena Attendance: 6,150 Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

Bulgaria v Sweden

31 August 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	V	Sweden	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)				Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

Bulgaria v Netherlands

9 September 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	V	Netherlands	Netherlands
18:00 (18:00 UTC+2)

Bulgaria v France

7 October 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	V	France	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)				Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

Bulgaria v Luxembourg

10 October 2017 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	V	Luxembourg	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)				Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel

Bulgaria v Colombia

20 October 2017 Friendly	Bulgaria	V	Colombia	Sofia, Bulgaria
				Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

Ranking History

See also: FIFA World Rankings

	Rank	Date
Best Rank	3	June 1995
Current Rank	54	July 2017
Worst Rank	96	May 2012

Players

The following players were called up for the preliminary squad against Belarus on June 9, 2017.
Caps and goals updated as of 9 June 2017 after the match against Belarus.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
13	1GK	Nikolay Mihaylov	(1988-06-28) 28 June 1988	33	0	Mersin İdmanyurdu
23	1GK	Plamen Iliev	(1991-11-30) 30 November 1991	2	0	Astra Giurgiu
1	1GK	Georgi Kitanov	(1995-03-06) 6 March 1995	0	0	CSKA Sofia
11	2DF	Stanislav Manolev	(1985-12-16) 16 December 1985	47	4	CSKA Sofia
3	2DF	Petar Zanev	(1985-10-18) 18 October 1985	29	0	Amkar Perm
2	2DF	Strahil Popov	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990	12	0	Kasımpaşa
5	2DF	Georgi Terziev	(1992-04-18) 18 April 1992	9	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
15	2DF	Vasil Bozhikov	(1988-06-02) 2 June 1988	7	0	Unattached
4	2DF	Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski	(1995-08-01) 1 August 1995	3	0	CSKA Sofia
14	2DF	Anton Nedyalkov	(1993-04-30) 30 April 1993	3	0	CSKA Sofia
21	3MF	Svetoslav Dyakov (Captain)	(1984-05-31) 31 May 1984	36	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
17	3MF	Georgi Milanov	(1992-02-19) 19 February 1992	35	2	CSKA Moscow
20	3MF	Aleksandar Tonev	(1990-02-02) 2 February 1990	27	5	Crotone
18	3MF	Ivaylo Chochev	(1993-02-18) 18 February 1993	12	1	Palermo
6	3MF	Simeon Slavchev	(1993-09-25) 25 September 1993	10	0	Sporting CP
7	3MF	Georgi Kostadinov	(1990-09-07) 7 September 1990	4	1	Maccabi Haifa
12	3MF	Bozhidar Kraev	(1997-06-23) 23 June 1997	1	0	Midtjylland
22	3MF	Aleksandar Tsvetkov	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990	1	0	Cherno More Varna
8	3MF	Aleksandar Bashliev	(1989-11-16) 16 November 1989	0	0	Pirin Blagoevgrad
19	3MF	Kiril Despodov	(1996-08-11) 11 August 1996	0	0	CSKA Sofia
10	4FW	Ivelin Popov	(1987-10-26) 26 October 1987	68	12	Spartak Moscow
9	4FW	Spas Delev	(1989-09-22) 22 September 1989	15	2	Pogoń Szczecin
16	4FW	Andrey Galabinov	(1988-11-13) 13 November 1988	7	2	Genoa

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 Krastev	(1996-12-06) 6 December 1996	0	0	Levski Sofia	v. Netherlands, 15 March 2017 INJ
GK	Vladislav Stoyanov	(1987-06-08) 8 June 1987	19	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v. Netherlands, 15 March 2017 PRE / INJ
GK	Blagoy Makendzhiev	(1988-07-11) 11 July 1988	0	0	Pirin Blagoevgrad	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
GK	Bozhidar Mitrev	(1987-03-31) 31 March 1987	9	0	Levski Sofia	v. Sweden, 11 October 2016
DF	Nikolay Bodurov	(1986-05-30) 30 May 1986	36	1	CSKA Sofia	v. Netherlands, 15 March 2017
DF	Stefan Velkov	(1996-12-12) 12 December 1996	0	0	Slavia Sofia	v. Netherlands, 15 March 2017
DF	Aleksandar Aleksandrov	(1986-04-13) 13 April 1986	16	0	Cherno More Varna	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
DF	Radoslav Terziev	(1994-08-06) 6 August 1994	0	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
DF	Atanas Zehirov	(1989-02-13) 13 February 1989	0	0	Cherno More Varna	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
DF	Daniel Zlatkov	(1989-03-06) 6 March 1989	0	0	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
DF	Zhivko Milanov RET	(1984-07-15) 15 July 1984	28	0	APOEL	v. Sweden, 11 October 2016
DF	Dimitar Pirgov	(1989-10-23) 23 October 1989	1	0	Levski Sofia	v. Sweden, 11 October 2016
DF	Yordan Minev	(1980-10-14) 14 October 1980	24	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. France, 7 October 2016 INJ
DF	Ivan Ivanov	(1988-02-25) 25 February 1988	40	3	Unattached	v. Luxembourg, 6 September 2016
DF	Iliya Milanov	(1992-02-19) 19 February 1992	6	0	Neftochimic Burgas	v. Luxembourg, 6 September 2016
MF	Aleksandar Vasilev	(1995-04-27) 27 April 1995	0	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v. Netherlands, 15 March 2017
MF	Nikolay Dimitrov	(1987-10-15) 15 October 1987	7	0	Ural Yekaterinburg	v. Netherlands, 15 March 2017 PRE
MF	Todor Nedelev	(1993-02-07) 7 February 1993	11	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
MF	Martin Raynov	(1992-04-25) 25 April 1992	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
MF	Milen Zhelev	(1993-07-17) 17 July 1993	0	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
MF	Mihail Aleksandrov	(1989-06-11) 11 June 1989	18	3	Arsenal Tula	v. Sweden, 11 October 2016
MF	Marcelinho	(1984-08-24) 24 August 1984	7	2	Ludogorets Razgrad	v. Sweden, 11 October 2016
FW	Dimitar Rangelov	(1983-02-09) 9 February 1983	40	6	Ümraniyespor	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
FW	Radoslav Kirilov	(1992-06-29) 29 June 1992	1	0	Chievo	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
FW	Preslav Yordanov	(1989-07-21) 21 July 1989	1	0	Ordabasy	v. Belarus, 13 November 2016
FW	Georgi Bozhilov	(1987-02-12) 12 February 1987	2	0	Cherno More Varna	v. Luxembourg, 6 September 2016

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

Current technical staff

Head coach	Petar Hubchev
Assistant coach	Georgi Donkov
Assistant coach	Levon Apkaryan
Goalkeepers coach	Armen Ambartsumyan
BFU president	Borislav Mikhailov
Team captain	Svetoslav Dyakov

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup Squads

• 1962 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1966 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1970 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1974 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1986 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1994 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1998 FIFA World Cup squad

UEFA European Football Championship Squads

• UEFA Euro 1996 squad
• UEFA Euro 2004 squad

Summer Olympics Football Tournament Squads

• 1924 Summer Olympics football squad
• 1952 Summer Olympics football squad
• 1956 Summer Olympics football squad
• 1960 Summer Olympics football squad
• 1968 Summer Olympics football squad

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	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	1999–2013	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
8	Hristo Stoichkov	1986–1999	83	37	0.45
9	Nasko Sirakov	1983–1996	82	23	0.28
10	Zlatko Yankov	1989–1999	80	4	0.05
11	Ayan Sadakov	1981–1991	79	9	0.11
12	Dimitar Berbatov	1999–2010	78	48	0.62

International Match Records

• As of July, 2017

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponents	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost
Albania	11	5	4	2
Algeria	6	3	2	1
Andorra	2	2	0	0
Argentina	9	3	0	6
Armenia	2	1	0	1
Australia	4	2	2	0
Austria	8	2	2	4
Azerbaijan	2	1	1	0
Belarus	6	4	0	2
Belgium	14	6	2	6
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	0	0
Brazil	8	2	0	6
Bolivia	1	1	0	0
Cameroon	1	1	0	0
Chile	2	1	0	1
Croatia	6	2	2	2
Cyprus	13	12	0	1
Czech Republic	19	7	5	7
Denmark	16	4	9	3
Ecuador	2	1	0	1
Egypt	6	1	2	3
England	9	2	2	5
Estonia	2	1	1	0
Finland	8	7	1	0
France	20	8	4	8
Georgia	5	3	1	1
Germany	19	4	2	13
Ghana	1	1	0	0
Greece	21	12	2	7
Guatemala	1	1	0	0
Hungary	18	4	4	10
Iceland	5	4	1	0
India	1	1	0	0
Northern Ireland	7	4	1	2
Republic of Ireland	8	5	1	2
Israel	6	4	1	1
Italy	18	2	8	8
Jamaica	1	0	1	0
Japan	4	3	1	0
Kazakhstan	1	1	0	0
South Korea	2	1	1	0
Kuwait	4	2	2	0
Latvia	3	3	0	0
Lebanon	1	1	0	0
Luxembourg	12	12	0	0
Lithuania	1	1	0	0
North Macedonia	7	4	1	2
Malta	10	8	2	0
Mexico	12	4	5	3
Moldova	2	2	0	0
Montenegro	4	1	2	1
Morocco	4	1	2	1
Netherlands	11	5	2	4
Nigeria	3	1	0	2
Norway	13	6	4	3
Oman	1	0	1	0
Paraguay	1	0	1	0
Peru	5	2	1	2
Poland	16	5	7	4
Portugal	11	5	2	4
Romania	29	10	10	9
Russia	19	4	5	10
San Marino	2	2	0	0
Saudi Arabia	2	1	0	1
Scotland	6	2	2	2
Serbia	5	2	1	2
Slovakia	7	3	1	3
Slovenia	2	2	0	0
South Africa	1	0	1	0
Spain	5	1	1	3
Sweden	11	3	2	6
Switzerland	10	3	4	3
Thailand	1	1	0	0
Tunisia	3	1	1	1
Turkey	21	8	7	6
United States	1	1	0	0
Ukraine	6	2	2	2
United Arab Emirates	6	5	0	1
Uruguay	1	0	1	0
Wales	8	4	1	3

Head coaches

• Leopold Nitsch 1924
• Willibald Stejskal 1925
• Pavel Grozdanov 1927–1930
• Carl Nemes 1930
• Otto Feist 1931
• Pavel Grozdanov 1932–1933
• Károly Fogl 1934–1935
• Nikola Kalkandzhiev 1935
• Ivan Batandzhiev 1936
• Geno Mateev 1936
• Stanislav Toms 1937–1938
• Kostantin Maznikov 1938
• Ivan Radoev 1939
• Franz Köhler 1940–41
• Ivan Radoev 1942

• Ivan Batandzhiev 1943
• Todor Konov 1946
• Mihail Manov 1947
• Ivan Radoev 1947
• Ivan Radoev 1947
• Rezső Somlai 1947
• Lubomir Angelov 1948
• Andor Haidu 1948–1949
• Ivan Radoev 1950
• Lubomir Angelov 1950
• Andor Haidú 1950
• Lubomir Angelov 1953
• Stoyan Ormandzhiev 1950–1953
• Krum Milev 1954–60
• Georgi Pachedzhiev 1955–1962

• Stoyan Ormandzhiev 1963
• Béla 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 2011–2014
• Ivaylo Petev 2015–2016
• Petar Hubchev 2016–

See also

• Bulgaria national under-23 football team
• Bulgaria national under-21 football team
• Bulgaria national under-19 football team
• Bulgaria national under-18 football team
• Bulgaria national under-17 football team

Sources

External links

• Bulgarian football – history, teams, stadiums, fan clubs
• RSSSF archive of results 1924–
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Bulgarian football legends
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers