Bulgaria national football team

Bulgaria

Nickname(s)	Лъвовете (The Lions)
Association	Bulgarian Football Union
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Ivaylo Petev
Captain	Svetoslav Dyakov
Most caps	Stiliyan Petrov (106)
Top scorer	Dimitar Berbatov (48)
FIFA code	BUL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	78 10
Highest	3 (June 1995)
Lowest	96 (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
Euro Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 1968)
Best result	Quarter-Finals: 1968
Summer 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 ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Ivaylo Petev 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.

1930 World Cup 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. There original group stage opponents were set as Brazil, Yugoslavia and Bolivia. This was a major disappointment to the national side. Bulgaria’s next major tournament was the entrance to the 1962 world cup.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Yugoslavia	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5	4
Brazil	2	1	0	1	5	2	+3	2
Bulgaria	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Bolivia	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8	0

Years in 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, their time came, when they qualified for the World Cup for the second time, in Chile, 1962.

1960s and 1970s: Four consecutive World Cup appearances, first time Euro, Olympic final and Balkan triumph

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, did not have much success and finished third in their group three out of the four times.

The team qualified for its first UEFA European Championship in 1968 and went on to win their group with wins over Norway (4-2), Sweden (3-0) and Portugal (1-0) before losing to eventual champion and host Italy in a two-legged quarterfinal. Bulgaria won the first leg 3-2, but lost the second by a 2-0 score to lose 4-3 on aggregate.

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 would qualify after a while to their second world cup, although this is the first one they would be competing in. Bulgaria was drawn in a tough group with tough opponents England, power machine Argentina and super power house Hungary. Bulgaria would open up their campaign with a narrow 0-1 loss to Argentina. Later on, misery would strike, as Bulgaria would lose their second group match by a 1-6 score to Hungary. Bulgaria’s hopes of qualifying were over, but with one world cup match left, they gave it a shot. They would end up drawing with England 0-0 and finish fourth in the group with only one point.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Hungary	3	2	1	0	8	2	+6	5
England	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	3
Argentina	3	1	1	1	2	3	-1	3
Bulgaria	3	0	1	2	1	7	-6	1

30 May 1962

15:00 CLT (UTC-04)

Bulgaria	0 – 1	Argentina
	Report	Facundo 4'

Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua

Attendance: 7,134

Referee: Juan Gardeazábal Garay (Spain)

3 June 1962

15:00 CLT (UTC-04)

Bulgaria	1 – 6	Hungary
Asparuhov 64'	Report	Albert 1', 6', 53' Tichy 8', 70' Solymosi 12'

Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua

Attendance: 7,442

Referee: Juan Gardeazábal Garay (Spain)

7 June 1962

15:00 CLT (UTC-04)

Bulgaria	0 – 0	England
	Report

Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua

Attendance: 5,700

Referee: Antoine Blavier (Belgium)

1966 World Cup

As 4 years passed, so did another chance of world cup success. Bulgaria would qualify for their second straight world cup. They were drawn into an even harder group than last world cup. They would end up in a group of death with super powers Hungary, Portugal and Brazil with Pele at the helm. Bulgaria would open their campaign match with a 0-2 loss to Brazil thanks to two free kick goals by Pele and Garrincha. Later on Bulgaria would lose 0-3 to Euseibo and Portugal. Finally Bulgaria, once again with no chance of next round qualification, would finish their last match with a 1-3 loss to Hungary. Bulgaria would finish fourth with zero points in the group. This being Bulgaria’s worst world cup performance yet in Bulgaria’s history.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Portugal	3	3	0	0	9	2	+7	6
Hungary	3	2	0	1	7	5	+2	4
Brazil	3	1	0	2	4	6	-2	2
Bulgaria	3	0	0	3	1	8	-7	0

12 July 1966

19:30 BST

Bulgaria	0 – 2	Brazil
	Report	Pelé 15' Garrincha 63'

Goodison Park, Liverpool

Attendance: 48,000

Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)

16 July 1966

15:00 BST

Bulgaria	0 – 3	Portugal
	Report	Vutsov 17' (o.g.) Eusébio 38' Torres 81'

Old Trafford, Manchester

Attendance: 26,000

Referee: José María Codesal (Uruguay)

20 July 1966

19:30 BST

Bulgaria	1 – 3	Hungary
Asparuhov 15'	Report	Davidov 43' (o.g.) Mészöly 45' Bene 54'

Old Trafford, Manchester

Attendance: 22,000

Referee: Roberto Goicoechea (Argentina)

1968 Euro Cup: Quarter-finals

After their poor world cup performance, Bulgaria was determined to redeem themselves somehow. So when the time finally came, they did. Bulgaria was drawn in a group with Scandinavian Giants Norway and Sweden along with King Euseibo and Portugal. Bulgaria started off very well with a 4-2 win over Norway. They would add to their winning streak with a 3-0 destruction of Sweden. There final match would determine who would win the group. Bulgaria were downed in the past world cup by Portugal 3-0, and they were determined not to happen again. When the game finally came, Bulgaria would defeat Portugal by a 1-0 score. This would seal Bulgaria as group winners and a shot at the two legged quarterfinal. When that time finally came Bulgaria would have to face Italy, the hosts. Bulgaria would start off well, with a 3-2 victory over the Italians. When the second match came, Bulgaria would fall 2-0, also causing them to lose in aggregate and getting eliminated from the tournament. Italy would go on to win the European Championship, and Bulgaria would get the 5th-place ranking, for being the only team in the tournament able to defeat the champions Italy, in a match.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Bulgaria	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9
Portugal	3	1	1	1	3	3	+0	4
Sweden	3	1	1	1	6	6	+0	3
Norway	3	0	0	3	5	11	-6	0

13 November 1966
15:00

Bulgaria	4 – 2	Norway
Tsanev 18', 43' Zhekov 42', 85'		Hasund 59', 86'

Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Muzaffer Sarvan (Turkey)

12 November 1967
15:00

Bulgaria	3 – 0	Sweden
Vasel Mitkov

Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia

Attendance: 28,000

Referee: Josip Drago Horvat (Yugoslavia)

26 November 1967
14:30

Bulgaria	1 – 0	Portugal
Dermendjiev 63'

Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia

Attendance: 55,000

Referee: Anvar Zverev (RUS)

Two-legged quarter-final

6 April 1968
17:00
First Leg

Bulgaria	3 – 2	Italy
Kotkov 12' (pen) Dermendzhiev 66' Zhekov 73'		Penev 60' (og) Prati 83'

Vasil Levski, Sofia

Attendance: 70,000

Referee: Gerhard Schulenburg (FRG)

20 April 1968
16:00
Second Leg

Bulgaria	0 – 2	Italy
		Prati 14' Domenghini 55'

Stadio San Paolo, Naples

Attendance: 95,000

Referee: Gottfried Dienst (SUI)

Italy won 4 – 3 on aggregete

1968 Summer Olympics

A month and a half after the European Championship came the Olympics, which Bulgaria had qualified for the 5th time in their history. They were drawn in a simple group with minnows Thailand, tough opponents Guatemala and giants Czechoslovakia. Bulgaria would start off with a 7-0 thrashing of Thailand. They would later go on and draw with Czechoslovakia 2-2 to increase their point standards. Their final match would determine if they would go on to the quarterfinals. As the time came Bulgaria would defeat Guatemala 2-1 and win their first round Olympic group. They would pass on to the Quarterfinals to face underdogs Israel. That game would remain 1-1 for most of the match until a drawing of lots would determine who would go to the semifinals of the tournament. Bulgaria would with the draw and advance to play Mexico. They would have a hard fought match, but overtime they would come out on top with a 3-2 victory. Bulgaria would advance to the finals for the first time in their Olympic history. They were determined to win the gold medal, but would fall short badly with a 1-4 loss to Hungary. Bulgaria worked hard but could only come out with a silver medal. It was a good performance but not enough for the final and most important game of the tournament.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Bulgaria	3	2	1	0	11	3	+8	5
Guatemala	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	4
Czechoslovakia	3	1	1	1	10	3	+7	3
Thailand	3	0	0	3	1	19	−18	0

14 October 1968

12:00

Bulgaria	7 – 0	Thailand
M.Gyonin 25' P.Zhekov 55' A.Mihaylov "Natchko" 56' 61' I.Zafirov "Kopata" 73' A.Nikodimov "Paro" 85' K.Ivkov 88'	Report

Estadio Nou Camp, León

Referee: Guillermo Velasquez

16 October 1968

12:00

Bulgaria	2 – 2	Czechoslovakia
I.Georgiev 44' P.Zhekov 77'	Report	Jarabinský 25' Petráš 42'

Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara

Referee: Abel Aguilar Elizalde

18 October 1968

12:00

Bulgaria	2 – 1	Guatemala
A.Nikodimov "Paro" 50' P.Zhekov 84'	Report	López Oliva 88'

Estadio Nou Camp, León

Referee: Raul Osorio

Quarter-finals

20 October 1968

12:00

Bulgaria	1 – 1	Israel
Hristakiev 5'	Report	Feigenbaum 89'

Estadio Nou Camp, León

Referee: Michel Kitabdjian

Bulgaria progressed after a drawing of lots.

Semi-finals

22 October 1968

12:00

Bulgaria	3 – 2	Mexico
P.Zhekov 8' A.Mihaylov 9' Ts. Veselinov (58)	Report	Morales 39' Pulido Rodríguez 48'

Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara

Referee: Seyoum Tarekegn

Gold Medal match

26 October 1968

12:00

Bulgaria	1 – 4	Hungary
Ts. Veselinov 22'	Report	Menczel 40' A. Dunai 41' 49' Juhász 62'

Azteca Stadium, Mexico City

Attendance: 75,000

Referee: Diego De Leo

1970 World Cup

Bulgaria qualified for their third straight world cup. This time it was in Mexico just like the Olympics two years before it. Bulgaria was hoping for another great result like in the Olympics but this time in world cup standards. They were drawn in a medially tough group with power giants Germany, South American powers Peru and African underdogs Morocco. Bulgaria played their first match against Peru. They were leading the match 2-0 until near the end when the Peruvians woke up and began to score. Bulgaria would clumsily fall to Peru 2-3, and start their group in slow fashion. The second match didn’t change much for Bulgaria as they would fall to the giants Germany 5-2. Bulgaria still had a chance to qualify for the next round but they would need a win against Morocco to do that. When that time came Bulgaria would lead Morocco for most of the game until the 61st minute. Bulgaria would end up drawing with Morocco 1-1. They would finish the group in 3rd place but fall short of next round qualification.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany	3	3	0	0	10	4	+6	6
Peru	3	2	0	1	7	5	+2	4
Bulgaria	3	0	1	2	5	9	−4	1
Morocco	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4	1

2 June 1970

16:00 (CST)

Bulgaria	2 – 3	Peru
Dermendzhiev 13' Bonev 49'	Report	Gallardo 50' Chumpitaz 55' Cubillas 73'

Estadio Nou Camp, León

Attendance: 13,765

Referee: Antonio Sbardella (Italy)

7 June 1970

12:00 (CST)

Bulgaria	2 – 5	Germany
Nikodimov 12' Kolev 89'	Report	Libuda 20' Müller 27', 52' (pen.), 88' Seeler 67'

Estadio Nou Camp, León

Attendance: 12,710

Referee: José María Ortiz de Mendibil (Spain)

11 June 1970

16:00 (CST)

Bulgaria	1 – 1	Morocco
Zhechev 40'	Report	Ghazouani 61'

Estadio Nou Camp, León

Attendance: 12,299

Referee: Antonio Ribeiro Saldanha (Portugal)

1974 World Cup

Four years later, in Germany, Bulgaria would qualify for their fourth straight world cup. They were drawn in a decently tough group, with destroyers the Netherlands, up setters Sweden and shockers 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 ref. Later on though Bulgaria would tie with Uruguay 1-1 after a hard fought match. Bulgaria remained in good qualifying contention; all they needed to do was tie against the Netherlands. As the final match came, Bulgaria would fall by a 1-4 score. The ironic thing though was that Netherlands scored all the goals including an own goal for Bulgaria. Bulgaria would remain in 3rd place in the group and sadly fall short of the next round once again. The good thing was that this was their best performance at a world cup since 1930; with 2 draws and 1 loss. Though, their best performances were soon to come.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	5
Sweden	3	1	2	0	3	0	+3	4
Bulgaria	3	0	2	1	2	5	−3	2
Uruguay	3	0	1	2	1	6	−5	1

15 June 1974

16:00 CET

Bulgaria	0 – 0	Sweden
	Report

Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf

Attendance: 22,500

Referee: Edison Perez Nunez (Peru)

19 June 1974

19:30 CET

Bulgaria	1 – 1	Uruguay
Bonev 75'	Report	Pavoni 87'

Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Jack Taylor (England)

23 June 1974

16:00 CET

Bulgaria	1 – 4	Netherlands
Krol 78' (o.g.)	Report	Neeskens 5' (pen.), 44' (pen.) Rep 71' de Jong 88'

Westfalenstadion, Dortmund

Attendance: 52,100

Referee: Tony Boskovic (Australia)

1986 World Cup: 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 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.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Argentina	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	5
Italy	3	1	2	0	5	4	+1	4
Bulgaria	3	0	2	1	2	4	−2	2
South Korea	3	0	1	2	4	7	−3	1

31 May 1986

12:00 CST

Bulgaria	1 – 1	Italy
Sirakov 85'	Report	Altobelli 43'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 96,000

Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden)

5 June 1986

16:00 CST

Bulgaria	1 – 1	South Korea
Getov 11'	Report	Kim Jong-Boo 70'

Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City

Attendance: 45,000

Referee: Fallaj Al Shanar (Saudi Arabia)

10 June 1986

12:00 CST

Bulgaria	0 – 2	Argentina
	Report	Valdano 3' Burruchaga 79'

Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City

Attendance: 65,000

Referee: Berny Ulloa Morera (Costa Rica)

Round of 16

15 June 1986

12:00 CST

Bulgaria	0 – 2	Mexico
	Report	Negrete 34' Servín 61'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 114,580

Referee: Romualdo Arppi Filho (Brazil)

1994 World Cup: Semi-final 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 3–1 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, making it a world cup record. 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. Later in December, Stoitchkov 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. 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.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Nigeria	3	2	0	1	6	2	+4	6
Bulgaria	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	6
Argentina	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6
Greece	3	0	0	3	0	10	−10	0

21 June 1994

18:35 CDT

Bulgaria	1 – 3	Nigeria
Stoichkov 32'	Report	Yekini 21' Amokachi 43' Amuneke 55'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 44,132

Referee: Rodrigo Badilla (Costa Rica)

26 June 1994

11:35 CDT

Bulgaria	4 – 0	Greece
Stoichkov 5' (pen.), 55' (pen.) Letchkov 65' Borimirov 90'	Report

Soldier Field, Chicago

Attendance: 63,160

Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

30 June 1994

18:35 CDT

Bulgaria	2 – 0	Argentina
Stoichkov 61' Sirakov 90'	Report

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 63,998

Referee: Neji Jouini (Tunisia)

Round of 16

5 July 1994

16:35

Bulgaria	1 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Mexico
Stoichkov 6'	Report	García Aspe 18' (pen.)
Penalties
Balakov Guentchev Borimirov Letchkov	3 – 1	García Aspe Bernal Rodríguez Suárez

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 71,030

Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

Quarter-finals

10 July 1994

12:05

Bulgaria	2 – 1	Germany
Stoichkov 75' Letchkov 78'	Report	Matthäus 47' (pen.)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 72,000

Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

Semi-finals

13 July 1994

16:05

Bulgaria	1 – 2	Italy
Stoichkov 44' (pen.)	Report	R. Baggio 21', 25'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 74,110

Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

1996 Euro Cup: Group stage or quarter-final?

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.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
France	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	7
Spain	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5
Bulgaria	3	1	1	1	3	4	–1	4
Romania	3	0	0	3	1	4	–3	0

9 June 1996

14:30

Bulgaria	1 – 1	Spain
Stoichkov 65' (pen.)	Report	Alfonso 74'

Elland Road, Leeds

Attendance: 24,006

Referee: Piero Ceccarini (Italy)

13 June 1996

16:30

Bulgaria	1 – 0	Romania
Stoichkov 3'	Report

St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

Attendance: 19,107

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

18 June 1996

16:30

Bulgaria	1 – 3	France
Stoichkov 69'	Report	Blanc 21' Penev 63' (o.g.) Loko 90'

St James' Park, Newcastle

Attendance: 26,976

Referee: Dermot Gallagher (England)0 28'

1998 World Cup: The last stand 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.

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group D

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Nigeria	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6
Paraguay	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
Spain	3	1	1	1	8	4	+4	4
Bulgaria	3	0	1	2	1	7	−6	1

12 June 1998

14:30

Bulgaria	0 – 0	Paraguay
	Report

Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier

Attendance: 27,650

Referee: Abdul Rahman Al-Zeid (Saudi Arabia)

19 June 1998

17:30

Bulgaria	0 – 1	Nigeria
	Report	Ikpeba 26'

Parc des Princes, Paris

Attendance: 45,500

Referee: Mario Sánchez Yanten (Chile)

24 June 1998

21:00

Bulgaria	1 – 6	Spain
Kostadinov 56'	Report	Hierro 5' (pen.) Luis Enrique 18' Morientes 53', 80' Kiko 88', 90'

Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens

Attendance: 38,100

Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)

2000 Euro Cup qualification: The end of a legendary era

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.

2002 World Cup qualification: Beginning of the World Cup drought

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.

2004 Euro Cup

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.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Sweden	3	1	2	0	8	3	+5	5
Denmark	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2	5
Italy	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5
Bulgaria	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0

14 June 2004 (2004-06-14)

19:45

Bulgaria	0 – 4	Sweden
	Report	Ljungberg 32' Larsson 57' Ibrahimović 78' (pen.) Allbäck 90+1'

Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon

Attendance: 31,652

Referee: Mike Riley (England)

18 June 2004 (2004-06-18)

17:00

Bulgaria	0 – 2	Denmark
	ReportReport	Tomasson 44' Grønkjær 90+2'

Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga

Attendance: 24,131

Referee: Lucílio Batista (Portugal)

22 June 2004 (2004-06-22)

19:45

Bulgaria	1 – 2	Italy
M. Petrov 45' (pen.)	Report	Perrotta 48' Cassano 90+4'

Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães

Attendance: 16,002

Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)

2006 World Cup qualification: Failure

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. Although Berbatov scored many key goals in the qualifier including a last minute eqaulizer against Croatia, Bulgaria still 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, Bulgaria entered for the first time. They started off well with a 2-1 victory over the hosts Japan. Later on though, things went downhill as they lost 5-1 to Scotland, the eventual champions of the Kirin Cup. Bulgaria became the Runners Up and received the silver medal.

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Scotland	2	1	1	0	5	1	+4	4
Bulgaria	2	1	0	1	3	6	-3	4
Japan	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	4

9 May 2006

Bulgaria	2 – 1	Japan
S. Todorov 1' Yanev 90+1'	Report	Maki 76'

Nagai Stadium, Osaka

Attendance: 44,851

Referee: Carlos Megia Davila

Kirin Cup group final

11 May 2006

Bulgaria	1 – 5	Scotland
Y. Todorov 26'	Report	Boyd 13' 43' McFadden 69' Burke 77' 88'

Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe

Attendance: 5,780

Referee: Toru Kamikawa

2008 Euro Cup qualification: Euro Cup 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 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.

2010 World Cup qualification: Close call

Bulgaria National Football Team in 2010.

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 mindset of returning to the national side in the future.

2012 Euro Cup qualification: Upset

The National Team in 2012.

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 2000s that Bulgaria has finished third in there qualifier group.

2014 World Cup qualification: World Cup near miss

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 revival and put in credible performance in friendly matches before the start of the qualifications, most notably a 1-2 victory over World Cup 2010 runner-ups Netherlands in Amsterdam. The qualifications started with a well-earned 2-2 draw against the Euro 2012 runner-up Italy on home soil. Bulgaria then edged a tight match against Armenia which ended 1-0. Later on Bulgaria narrowly drew 1-1 against Denmark. Another good performance followed four days later, Bulgaria earning a hard-fought 0-0 draw away to the Czech Republic. As a result of these performances when Penev took over the team climbed from 96th in the FIFA Ranking, their lowest position ever, to 40th in November 2012. Nevertheless, Penev's players hosted and defeated Malta 6-0 under a heavy snowfall for their next qualifier. Four days later, Bulgaria once again set a draw with Denmark 1-1 in Copenhagen.. This result left Bulgaria second in the group with 10 points and still undefeated. Bulgaria travelled to Italy 3, a game where they narrowly lost 1-0. Further on, the lions secured three more points with a 1-2 away win against Malta, leaving them hopeful of securing their second place in the group and a spot in the play-offs. However, after Bulgaria was defeated by Armenia 2-1 and the Czech Republic 1-0 at home, the dream of qualifying ended.

2016 Euro Cup qualification: In progess

Bulgaria have been placed in a group with Italy, Croatia, Norway, Azerbaijan, and Malta. Bulgaria opened up there first match with a 2-1 victory over Azerbaijan. They were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Croatia, following another tight 2-1 defeat to Norway. To add to the misery, Bulgaria drew with Malta 1-1 at home. This ultimately cost Head Coach Lyuboslav Penev his position, which was replaced by former Ludogorets Razgrad Coach Ivaylo Petev. On his debut match, Petev's squad drew Romania 0-0, this later led to a hard fought 2-2 draw with Italy, which Bulgaria led till the end of the match. When June came around Bulgaria took down Malta 1-0 to edge 2 points ever closer to that third place playoff position. They later lost at the hands of Norway 1-0 and to Italy 1-0 to an early penalty in the 4th minute. Their chances of qualifying to the finals tournament in France are very slim. Bulgaria currently is ranked fourth in the group with their next match away against Croatia.

2018 World Cup qualification: The qualifying group of death

Bulgaria have been drawn in a tough world cup qualification group with powerhouses Netherlands, France, Sweden along with other members 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. Although placed with tough opponents, Bulgaria has luckily drawn Luxembourg at home for their first match in September. This will give them the brief opportunity to re-group hopeing 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.

Team image

Colours

The Bulgarian tricolore flag

Traditionally the squad of Bulgarian plays at home entirely in colours of the Bulgarian tricolore, with predominantly white. This explains the very commonly used nickname The Lions.

Historical kits

Throughout the football nation's sartorial history, the outfield players wore equipments with the following colour patterns:

Home kits						Away kits						Third kit
1924-1975	1975-1978	1993-1994	2005-2008	2008-2011		1924–1975	1975-1984	1984–1993	1993–1994	2006-2008		2012-current

National stadium

The National Stadium

Normally, the Bulgarian national football team's home stadium is the Vasil Levski National Stadium with a capacity of 44,000. Vasil Levski was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002.It is 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 appear in the structure of a rose.

Competition history

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup Record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Qualified but withdrew	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1934 to 1958	Years in 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	3rd	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		8/20	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
2016	To be determined
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
Olympic Games	0	1	1	2
Balkan Cup	4	2	2	8
Total	4	3	4	11

• File:W.Cup2.svg 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

Undefeated run

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

Opponent	Type	Date	Result
Wales	Friendly	15 August 2006	0 – 0
Romania	Friendly	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	15 November 2006	2 – 0
Cyprus	Friendly	7 February 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 February 2008	2 – 0
Northern Ireland	Friendly	26 March 2008	1 – 0
Finland	Friendly	20 August 2008	2 – 1
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Friendly	6 September 2008	2 – 1
Montenegro	Qualifier	11 October 2008	2 – 2
Italy	Qualifier	12 October 2008	0 – 0
Georgia	Qualifier	15 October 2008	0 – 0

Recent results

Main article: Bulgaria national football team results

2014

Bulgaria v Belarus

5 March 2014 Friendly	Bulgaria	2 – 1	Belarus	Sofia, Bulgaria
17:45	Milanov 14' Gadzhev 66'	Report	Krivets 86'	Stadium: Vasil Levski Stadium Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Milenko Vukadinović (Serbia)

Bulgaria v Canada

23 May 2014 Friendly	Bulgaria	1 – 1	Canada	Ritzing, Austria
18:30	Galabinov 19'	Report	Hutchinson 27' (pen.)	Stadium: Sonnensee-Stadion Attendance: 250 Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)

Azerbaijan v Bulgaria

9 September 2014 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Azerbaijan	1 – 2	Bulgaria	Baku, Azerbaijan
18:00 (21:00 UTC+5)	Nazarov 54'	Report	Mitsanski 14' Hristov 87'	Stadium: Bakcell Arena Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Alon Yefet (Israel)

Bulgaria v Croatia

10 October 2014 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Bulgaria	0 – 1	Croatia	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)		Report	Bodurov 36' (o.g.)	Stadium: Vasil Levski Stadium Attendance: 29,733 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Norway v Bulgaria

13 October 2014 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Norway	2 – 1	Bulgaria	Oslo, Norway
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)	Elyounoussi 13' Nielsen 72'	Report	Bodurov 43'	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 18,990 Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

Bulgaria v Malta

16 November 2014 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Bulgaria	1 – 1	Malta	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)	Galabinov 6'	Report	Failla 49' (pen.)	Stadium: Vasil Levski Stadium Attendance: 600 Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (Sweden)

2015

Romania v Bulgaria

7 February 2015 Friendly	Romania	0 – 0	Bulgaria	Antalya, Turkey
18:00 (19:00 UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Atatürk Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland)

Bulgaria v Italy

28 March 2015 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Bulgaria	2 – 2	Italy	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)	Popov 11' Mitsanski 17'	Report	Y.Minev 4' (o.g.) Éder 84'	Stadium: Vasil Levski Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

Bulgaria v Albania

8 June 2015 Friendly	Bulgaria	3 - 0	Albania	Sofia, Bulgaria
	Popov 5', 27' Bodurov 88'			Stadium: Vasil Levski Stadium Attendance: 11,000

Turkey v Bulgaria

8 June 2015 Friendly	Turkey	4 – 0	Bulgaria	Istanbul, Turkey
	Çalhanoğlu 49', 54' Yılmaz 56', 80'	Report		Stadium: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)

Malta v Bulgaria

12 June 2015 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Malta	0 – 1	Bulgaria	Ta' Qali, Malta
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)		Report	I. Popov 56'	Stadium: Ta' Qali National Stadium Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (North Macedonia)

Bulgaria v Norway

3 September 2015 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Bulgaria	0 – 1	Norway	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)		Report	Forren 57'	Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Referee: Bas Nijhuis (the Netherlands)

Italy v Bulgaria

6 September 2015 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Italy	0 – 1	Bulgaria	Italy
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)		Report	De Rossi 4'

Croatia v Bulgaria

10 October 2015 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Croatia	–	Bulgaria	Zagreb, Croatia
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stadion Maksimir

Bulgaria v Azerbaijan

13 October 2015 UEFA Euro 2016 Q	Bulgaria	–	Azerbaijan	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)		Report		Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

2016

Bulgaria v Luxembourg

6 September 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	–	Luxembourg	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)				Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

France v Bulgaria

7 October 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	France	–	Bulgaria	Saint-Denis, France
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)				Stadium: Stade de France

Sweden v Bulgaria

10 October 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Sweden	–	Bulgaria	Solna, Sweden
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)				Stadium: Friends Arena

Bulgaria v Belarus

13 November 2016 FIFA World Cup 2018 Q	Bulgaria	–	Belarus	Sofia, Bulgaria
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)				Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

Ranking history

	Rank	Date
Worst Rank	96	August 2012
Best Rank	3	June 1995
Current Rank	78	October 2015

Players

Current Squad

The following players are in the squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualification matches against Croatia on 10 October and Azerbaijan on 13 October.
Caps and goals updated as of 6 September 2015 after the match against Italy.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Bozhidar Mitrev	(1987-03-31) 31 March 1987	4	0	Sheriff Tiraspol
	1GK	Plamen Iliev	(1991-11-30) 30 November 1991	2	0	Botoșani
	1GK	Blagoy Makendzhiev	(1988-06-11) 11 June 1988	0	0	Beroe Stara Zagora
	2DF	Ivan Ivanov	(1988-02-25) 25 February 1988	39	3	Basel
	2DF	Zhivko Milanov	(1984-07-15) 15 July 1984	23	0	Levski Sofia
	2DF	Aleksandar Aleksandrov	(1986-04-13) 13 April 1986	7	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
	2DF	Georgi Terziev	(1992-04-18) 18 April 1992	5	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
	2DF	Ivo Ivanov	(1985-03-11) 11 March 1985	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora
	2DF	Strahil Popov	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990	1	0	Litex Lovech
	2DF	Anton Nedyalkov	(1993-04-30) 30 April 1993	0	0	Litex Lovech
	2DF	Asen Georgiev	(1993-07-09) 9 July 1993	0	0	Montana
	3MF	Georgi Milanov	(1992-02-19) 19 February 1992	26	2	CSKA Moscow
	3MF	Aleksandar Tonev	(1990-02-03) 3 February 1990	19	3	Frosinone
	3MF	Hristo Zlatinski	(1985-01-22) 22 January 1985	10	0	CSU Craiova
	3MF	Mihail Aleksandrov	(1989-06-11) 11 June 1989	9	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
	3MF	Todor Nedelev	(1993-02-07) 7 February 1993	8	0	Mainz 05
	3MF	Simeon Slavchev	(1993-09-25) 25 September 1993	4	0	Apollon Limassol
	3MF	Ivaylo Chochev	(1993-02-18) 18 February 1993	4	0	Palermo
	3MF	Georgi Kostadinov	(1990-09-07) 7 September 1990	0	0	Levski Sofia
	3MF	Anton Karachanakov	(1992-01-17) 17 January 1992	0	0	Slavia Sofia
	4FW	Ivelin Popov	(1987-10-26) 26 October 1987	56	10	Spartak Moscow
	4FW	Dimitar Rangelov	(1983-02-09) 9 February 1983	32	3	Konyaspor
	4FW	Ventsislav Hristov	(1988-11-09) 9 November 1988	5	1	Skënderbeu Korçë

Recent Call-Ups

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Nikolay Mihaylov	(1988-06-28) 28 June 1988	31	0	Mersin İdmanyurdu	v. Norway, 3 September 2015 INJ
GK	Vladislav Stoyanov	(1987-06-08) 8 June 1987	14	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v. Norway, 3 September 2015 INJ
DF	Stanislav Manolev	(1985-12-16) 16 December 1985	45	4	Kuban Krasnodar	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
DF	Nikolay Bodurov	(1986-05-30) 30 May 1986	33	1	Fulham	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
DF	Veselin Minev	(1980-10-14) 14 October 1980	24	0	Levski Sofia	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
DF	Yordan Minev	(1980-10-14) 14 October 1980	23	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
DF	Ivan Bandalovski	(1986-11-23) 23 November 1986	16	0	Partizan	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
DF	Petar Zanev	(1985-10-18) 18 October 1985	26	0	Amkar Perm	v. Malta, 12 June 2015
DF	Borislav Stoychev	(1986-11-26) 26 November 1986	0	0	Hapoel Ra'anana	v. Malta, 12 June 2015
DF	Ventsislav Vasilev	(1988-07-08) 8 July 1988	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v. Italy, 28 March 2015
DF	Iliya Milanov	(1992-02-19) 19 February 1992	6	0	Litex Lovech	v. Italy, 28 March 2015 INJ
DF	Mihail Venkov	(1983-07-28) 28 July 1983	7	0	Cherno More Varna	v. Romania, 8 February 2015
DF	Radoslav Terziev	(1994-08-06) 6 August 1994	0	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. Romania, 8 February 2015
MF	Svetoslav Dyakov	(1984-05-31) 31 May 1984	26	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
MF	Vladimir Gadzhev	(1987-07-18) 18 July 1987	28	1	Levski Sofia	v. Malta, 12 June 2015
MF	Kristiyan Malinov	(1994-03-30) 30 March 1994	1	0	Litex Lovech	v. Malta, 12 June 2015
MF	Atanas Zehirov	(1989-02-13) 13 February 1989	0	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v. Turkey, 8 June 2015
MF	Stefan Velev	(1989-05-02) 2 May 1989	3	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	v. Romania, 8 February 2015
MF	Lachezar Baltanov	(1988-07-11) 11 July 1988	0	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. Romania, 8 February 2015
MF	Daniel Genov	(1989-05-19) 19 May 1989	0	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. Romania, 8 February 2015
MF	Georgi Iliev	(1981-09-05) 5 September 1981	24	2	Shijiazhuang Ever Bright	v. Malta, 16 November 2014
MF	Marquinhos	(1982-04-30) 30 April 1982	6	0	Pirin Blagoevgrad	v. Malta, 16 November 2014
MF	Milen Gamakov	(1994-04-12) 12 April 1994	0	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. Malta, 16 November 2014
FW	Andrey Galabinov	(1988-11-27) 27 November 1988	6	2	Novara	v. Croatia, 10 October 2015
FW	Iliyan Mitsanski	(1985-12-20) 20 December 1985	17	4	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
FW	Aleksandar Kolev	(1992-12-08) 8 December 1992	0	0	Botev Plovdiv	v. Italy, 6 September 2015
FW	Valeri Bojinov	(1986-02-15) 15 February 1986	43	6	Partizan	v. Norway, 3 September 2015 INJ
FW	Radoslav Vasilev	(1990-10-12) 12 October 1990	2	0	Slavia Sofia	v. Malta, 12 June 2015
FW	Kiril Despodov	(1996-11-11) 11 November 1996	0	0	Litex Lovech	v. Romania, 8 February 2015
FW	Ismail Isa	(1989-06-26) 26 June 1989	0	0	Sheriff Tiraspol	v. Romania, 8 February 2015
FW	Georgi Bozhilov	(1987-02-12) 12 February 1987	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v. Malta, 16 November 2014

Notes

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

Coaching staff

Head coach	Ivaylo Petev
Team captain	Svetoslav Dyakov
BFU president	Borislav Mikhailov
Current national stadium	Vasil Levski

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

International match records

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	5	4	0	1
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	18	6	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	5	3	1	1
Malta	10	8	2	0
Mexico	12	4	5	3
Moldova	2	2	0	0
Montenegro	4	1	2	1
Morocco	5	1	2	2
Netherlands	10	4	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

Player records

Most appearances

#	Player	Pos.	Career	Caps	Goals	Average
1	Stiliyan Petrov	MF	1998–2013	106	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	1999–2013	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	1999–2013	19	89	0.21

Head coaches

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

• Ivan Batandzhiev 1943
• Todor Konov 1946
• Mihail Manov 1947
• Ivan Radoev 1947
• Ivan Radoev 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
• 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 2011-2014
• Ivaylo Petev 2015-

See also

• Bulgaria national under-21 football team
• Bulgaria national under-19 football team

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