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Bulgaria

Nickname(s)	Лъвовете (The Lions)
Association	Bulgarian Football Union
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Petar Hubchev
Captain	Ivelin Popov
Most caps	Stiliyan Petrov (105)
Top scorer	Dimitar Berbatov Hristo Bonev (48)
Home stadium	Vasil Levski National Stadium
FIFA code	BUL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	45 1 (25 October 2018)[1]
Highest	8 (June 1995)
Lowest	96 (August 2012)
Elo ranking
Current	50 10 (16 October 2018)[2]
Highest	2 (August 1975)
Lowest	70 (12 November 2016)
First international
Bulgaria 0–6 Austria  (Vienna, Austria; 21 May 1924)
Biggest win
Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana  (Leon, Mexico; 14 October 1968)
Biggest defeat
Bulgaria 0–13 Spain  (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (first in 1962)
Best result	Fourth place, 1994
European Championship
Appearances	2 (first in 1996)
Best result	Group stage, 1996 and 2004

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

The Bulgaria national football team (Bulgarian: Български национален отбор по футбол) is an association football team of Bulgaria. It is fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home stadium is the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia and Petar Hubchev is the current national manager. Their best achievements are – one FIFA World Cup semi-final in 1994, one Summer Olympics final in 1968, fifth place at the UEFA Euro 1968, and three Balkan Cup titles. Although defeating strong top ranked teams in many international friendlies throughout the years, the team's strength has slowly fallen, 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^[3] a 6–0 defeat.^[4] 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.^[5]

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 first 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 and failed to win a match in all 4 of their appearances.

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 semi-finals 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 were scored, 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 failed to 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

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, while France was eliminated having needed only a draw to qualify.^[6] 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".^[7] They entered Group D with Argentina, Nigeria and Greece.^[8] 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.^[9] Later, the team won 4–0 against World Cup-debuting Greece in Chicago^[10] and 2–0 against Argentina in Dallas.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] Sweden beat Bulgaria 4–0, so the team finished the tournament in 4th place.^[16] 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.^[17] Later in December, Stoitchkov was awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or, becoming the first ever Bulgarian to win it.^[18]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.

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

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.^{[citation needed]}

Era of Decline

2012 European qualification

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.^[19] Bulgaria opened up their first match with a 2–1 victory over Azerbaijan.^[20] They were defeated 1–0 by Croatia,^[21] which was followed by a 2–1 defeat to Norway.^[22] Bulgaria then drew with Malta 1–1 at home,^[23] but this cost Head Coach Lyuboslav Penev his position and he was replaced by former Ludogorets Razgrad Coach Ivaylo Petev.^[24] In his debut match in February 2015, Petev's squad drew Romania 0–0 in a friendly,^[25] 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.^[26] In June, Bulgaria defeated Malta 1–0 to move within 2 points of the third place playoff position.^[27] They then, however, lost their next three matches against Norway,^[28] Italy^[29] and Croatia^[30] before winning their final match 2–0 over Azerbaijan, thus failing to qualify for the finals tournament.^[31]

2018 World Cup qualification - Resurgence

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.^[32] It was followed by two heavy 1–4 and 0–3 losses to France and Sweden, respectively.^[33][34]
In November 2016, the Lions secured the three points against Belarus in Sofia with a narrow 1–0 win.^[35] 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.^[36]
On Thursday the 31st of August, 2017 Bulgaria pulled off another famous shock result defeating 1st place Sweden who had recently defeated heavy favourites France, 3–2 in Sofia. This result sent Bulgaria to 3rd place, 1 point below now second-placed Sweden and put them in a really good position to claim a play-off place which could assure them a ticket for Russia 2018.^[37] However, the Lions lost the key match against the Netherlands at Amsterdam Arena by the scoreline of 1–3, thus falling back to 4th place and possibly putting an end to their hopes of qualifying, as now Bulgaria is 4 points away from second-placed Sweden and 5 behind leaders France. Bulgaria then lost 0–1 at home to France, ending their undefeated-at-home streak, and missing yet another tournament.^[38] This not so bad qualifying campaign, the brightest moments being the wins against the Netherlands and Sweden, however ended in a disappointing way, as Bulgaria failed to beat Luxembourg for the first time in history, with the match at Stade Josy Barthel ending 1–1.^[39]

Standings

Pos	Team [ v t e ]	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	10	7	2	1	18	6	+12	23	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	2–1	4–0	4–1	0–0	2–1
2	Sweden	10	6	1	3	26	9	+17	19	Advance to second round		2–1	—	1–1	3–0	8–0	4–0
3	Netherlands	10	6	1	3	21	12	+9	19			0–1	2–0	—	3–1	5–0	4–1
4	Bulgaria	10	4	1	5	14	19	−5	13			0–1	3–2	2–0	—	4–3	1–0
5	Luxembourg	10	1	3	6	8	26	−18	6			1–3	0–1	1–3	1–1	—	1–0
6	Belarus	10	1	2	7	6	21	−15	5			0–0	0–4	1–3	2–1	1–1	—

Team image

Colours

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 Coat of arms of Bulgaria.

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  Bulgarian Tri-Color Flag
  

  
  

  
  


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  Coat of arms of Bulgaria
  

  
  

  
  

Kit suppliers

Kit Provider	Period
Adidas	1974–1994
Puma	1995–2010
Kappa	2010–2014
Joma	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

World Cup record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

Bulgaria's FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									Was not invited
1934	Did not qualify									3rd	3	0	0	3	3	14
1938										2nd	2	0	1	1	1	7
1950	Did not enter									-
1954	Did not qualify									3rd	4	0	1	3	3	7
1958										2nd	4	2	0	2	11	7
1962	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	1	7		1st	5	4	0	1	7	4
1966		12th	3	0	0	3	1	8		1st	5	4	0	1	11	7
1970		12th	3	0	1	2	5	9		1st	6	4	1	1	12	7
1974		11th	3	0	2	1	2	5		1st	6	4	2	0	13	3
1978	Did not qualify									2nd	4	1	2	1	5	6
1982										3rd	8	4	1	3	11	10
1986	Round of 16	10th	4	0	2	2	2	6		2nd	8	5	1	2	13	5
1990	Did not qualify									4th	6	1	1	4	6	8
1994	Fourth place	4th	7	3	1	3	10	11		2nd	10	6	2	2	19	10
1998	Group stage	22nd	3	0	1	2	1	7		1st	8	6	0	2	18	9
2002	Did not qualify									3rd	10	5	2	3	14	15
2006										3rd	10	4	3	3	17	17
2010										3rd	10	3	5	2	17	13
2014										4th	10	3	4	3	14	9
2018										4th	10	4	1	5	14	19
2022	To be determined									To be determined
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	Fourth place	7/21	26	3	7	15	22	53		Total	129	60	27	42	209	177

European Championship record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

UEFA Championship record									UEFA qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not qualify								FR	2	0	1	1	1	3
1964									FR	5	3	0	2	7	7
1968									P/O	8	5	2	1	13	6
1972									2nd	6	3	1	2	11	7
1976									3rd	6	2	2	2	12	7
1980									4th	8	2	1	5	6	14
1984									3rd	6	2	1	3	7	8
1988									2nd	8	4	2	2	12	6
1992									4th	8	3	3	2	15	8
1996	Group stage	11th	3	1	1	1	3	4	2nd	10	7	1	2	24	10
2000	Did not qualify								4th	8	2	2	4	6	8
2004	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	1	9	1st	8	5	2	1	13	4
2008	Did not qualify								3rd	12	7	4	1	18	7
2012									5th	8	1	2	5	3	13
2016									4th	10	3	2	5	9	12
2020	To be determined								To be determined
2024	To be determined								To be determined
Total	Group stage	2/16	6	1	1	4	4	13	Total	113	49	26	38	157	120

UEFA Nations League record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

Olympic record

     Gold medal        Silver medal        Bronze medal  

Olympic Record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900–1920	Did not participate
1924	Round of 16	12th	1	0	0	1	0	1
1928–1948	Did not participate
1952	Round of 16	13th	1	0	0	1	1	2
1956	Semi-finals	3rd	3	2	0	1	10	3
1960	Group stage	5th	3	2	1	0	8	3
1964	Did not qualify
1968	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	2	1	16	10
1972–1988	Did not qualify
1992–present	See Bulgaria U23 football team
Total		5/23	14	7	3	4	35	19

Balkan Cup record

     Gold medal        Silver medal        Bronze medal  

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	Group stage	4th	5	2	1	2	6	7
1976	Champions	1st	4	2	0	2	9	9
1980	Semi-finals	3rd	4	1	1	2	4	6
Total		12/12	41	19	4	19	80	99

FIFA Confederations Cup record

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Appearances : 0
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1992	Did not enter
1995	Did not qualify
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2009
2013
2017
Total		0/10	0	0	0	0	0	0

Honours

Competition				Total
Olympics	0	1	1	2
Balkan Cup	3	2	2	7
Total	3	3	3	9

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


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  Balkan Cup
  
  
  
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    Winners (3): 1931, 1932, 1976
  
  
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    Runners-up (2): 1935, 1936
  
  
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    Third place (2) : 1933, 1980
  
  
  
  

Recent results

  Win
  Draw
  Loss

Bulgaria  v  Netherlands

25 March 2017 (2017-03-25) 2018 FIFA WCQ	Bulgaria	2–0	Netherlands	Sofia, Bulgaria
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)	Delev  5', 20'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)		Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 10,900 Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

Belarus  v  Bulgaria

9 June 2017 (2017-06-09) 2018 FIFA WCQ	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 (2017-08-31) 2018 FIFA WCQ	Bulgaria	3–2	Sweden	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Manolev  12' Kostadinov  33' Chochev  79'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Lustig  29' Berg  44'	Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 12,121 Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

Netherlands  v  Bulgaria

3 September 2017 (2017-09-03) 2018 FIFA WCQ	Netherlands	3–1	Bulgaria	Amsterdam, Netherlands
18:00 (18:00 UTC+2)	Pröpper  7', 80' Robben  67'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Kostadinov  69'	Stadium: Amsterdam Arena Attendance: 47,079 Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

Bulgaria  v  France

7 October 2017 (2017-10-07) 2018 FIFA WCQ	Bulgaria	0–1	France	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)		Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Matuidi  3'	Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 12,921 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Luxembourg  v  Bulgaria

10 October 2017 (2017-10-10) 2018 FIFA WCQ	Luxembourg	1–1	Bulgaria	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)	O. Thill  3'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Chochev  68'	Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel Attendance: 2,936 Referee: István Vad (Hungary)

Bulgaria  v  Saudi Arabia

13 November 2017 (2017-11-13) Friendly	Bulgaria	1–0	Saudi Arabia	Lisbon, Portugal
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)	I. Popov  81'	Report		Stadium: Estádio do Restelo Attendance: 80 Referee: Fábio Veríssimo (Portugal)

Bulgaria  v  Bosnia and Herzegovina

23 March 2018 (2018-03-23) Friendly	Bulgaria	0–1	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Razgrad, Bulgaria
18:00 (19:00 UTC+2)		Report	Kodro  20'	Stadium: Ludogorets Arena Attendance: 2,200 Referee: François Letexier (France)

Bulgaria  v  Kazakhstan

26 March 2018 (2018-03-26) Friendly	Bulgaria	2–1	Kazakhstan	Felcsút, Hungary
18:00 (18:00 UTC+2)	I. Popov  23' (pen.) Bodurov  90+4'	Report	Tungyshbayev  55'	Stadium: Pancho Aréna Attendance: 100 Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hungary)

Slovenia  v  Bulgaria

6 September 2018 (2018-09-06) UEFA Nations League	Slovenia	1–2	Bulgaria	Ljubljana, Slovenia
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)	Zajc  40'	Report	Kraev  3', 59'	Stadium: Stožice Stadium Attendance: 5,100 Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)

Bulgaria  v  Norway

9 September 2018 (2018-09-09) UEFA Nations League	Bulgaria	1−0	Norway	Sofia, Bulgaria
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)	Vasilev  59'	Report		Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 7,100 Referee: Daniel Stefański (Poland)

Bulgaria  v  Cyprus

13 October 2018 (2018-10-13) UEFA Nations League	Bulgaria	2−1	Cyprus	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Despodov  59' Nedelev  68'	Report	Kastanos  41'	Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia)

Norway  v  Bulgaria

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)

Cyprus  v  Bulgaria

16 November 2018 (2018-11-16) UEFA Nations League	Cyprus	v	Bulgaria	Nicosia, Cyprus
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)				Stadium: GSP Stadium

Bulgaria  v  Slovenia

19 November 2018 (2018-11-19) UEFA Nations League	Bulgaria	v	Slovenia	Sofia, Bulgaria
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)				Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium

Ranking history

• FIFA-ranking yearly averages for Bulgaria^[40]
  

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up in the squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against Cyprus on 13 October, and Norway on 16 October 2018.^[41]
Caps and goals updated as of 16 October 2018 after the match against Norway.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Georgi Petkov	(1976-03-14) 14 March 1976 (age 42)	16	0	Slavia Sofia
23	1GK	Plamen Iliev	(1991-11-30) 30 November 1991 (age 26)	13	0	Astra Giurgiu
13	1GK	Blagoy Makendzhiev	(1988-07-11) 11 July 1988 (age 30)	0	0	Cherno More Varna
5	2DF	Nikolay Bodurov	(1986-05-30) 30 May 1986 (age 32)	45	2	CSKA Sofia
3	2DF	Petar Zanev	(1985-10-18) 18 October 1985 (age 33)	36	0	Yenisey Krasnoyarsk
2	2DF	Strahil Popov	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990 (age 28)	20	0	Kasımpaşa
11	2DF	Ivan Bandalovski	(1986-11-23) 23 November 1986 (age 31)	19	0	Beroe Stara Zagora
15	2DF	Vasil Bozhikov	(1988-06-02) 2 June 1988 (age 30)	17	0	Slovan Bratislava
4	2DF	Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski	(1995-08-01) 1 August 1995 (age 23)	8	0	CSKA Sofia
14	2DF	Anton Nedyalkov	(1993-04-30) 30 April 1993 (age 25)	6	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
20	2DF	Ivan Goranov	(1992-06-10) 10 June 1992 (age 26)	2	0	Levski Sofia
17	3MF	Georgi Milanov	(1992-02-19) 19 February 1992 (age 26)	41	2	MOL Vidi
8	3MF	Todor Nedelev	(1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 25)	20	1	Botev Plovdiv
6	3MF	Simeon Slavchev	(1993-09-25) 25 September 1993 (age 25)	20	0	Qarabağ
7	3MF	Georgi Kostadinov	(1990-09-07) 7 September 1990 (age 28)	14	3	Arsenal Tula
22	3MF	Nikolay Dimitrov	(1987-10-15) 15 October 1987 (age 31)	7	0	Ural Yekaterinburg
12	3MF	Bozhidar Kraev	(1997-06-23) 23 June 1997 (age 21)	8	2	Midtjylland
21	3MF	Kristiyan Malinov	(1994-03-30) 30 March 1994 (age 24)	3	0	CSKA Sofia
18	3MF	Galin Ivanov	(1988-04-15) 15 April 1988 (age 30)	2	0	Slavia Sofia
16	3MF	Svetoslav Kovachev	(1998-03-14) 14 March 1998 (age 20)	0	0	Dunav Ruse
10	4FW	Ivelin Popov (Captain)	(1987-10-26) 26 October 1987 (age 31)	78	14	Spartak Moscow
9	4FW	Radoslav Vasilev	(1990-10-12) 12 October 1990 (age 28)	5	1	Cherno More Varna
19	4FW	Kiril Despodov	(1996-11-11) 11 November 1996 (age 21)	5	1	CSKA Sofia

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 25)	0	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	v.  Norway, 9 September 2018
GK	Bozhidar Mitrev	(1987-03-31) 31 March 1987 (age 31)	9	0	Levski Sofia	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
DF	Angel Lyaskov	(1998-03-16) 16 March 1998 (age 20)	1	0	CSKA Sofia	v.  Norway, 9 September 2018
DF	Kamen Hadzhiev	(1991-09-22) 22 September 1991 (age 27)	0	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
DF	Tsvetomir Panov	(1989-04-17) 17 April 1989 (age 29)	1	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
DF	Aleksandar Dyulgerov	(1990-04-19) 19 April 1990 (age 28)	0	0	CSKA Sofia	v.  Saudi Arabia, 13 November 2017
MF	Borislav Tsonev INJ	(1995-04-29) 29 April 1995 (age 23)	0	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v.  Norway, 16 October 2018
MF	Martin Raynov	(1992-04-25) 25 April 1992 (age 26)	7	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v.  Norway, 9 September 2018
MF	Aleksandar Tsvetkov	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990 (age 28)	2	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v.  Norway, 9 September 2018
MF	Stanislav Manolev	(1985-12-16) 16 December 1985 (age 32)	51	5	CSKA Sofia	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
MF	Mihail Aleksandrov INJ	(1989-06-11) 11 June 1989 (age 29)	21	3	Arsenal Tula	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
MF	Ivaylo Chochev INJ	(1993-02-18) 18 February 1993 (age 25)	17	3	Palermo	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
MF	Ivan Minchev	(1991-05-28) 28 May 1991 (age 27)	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v.  Saudi Arabia, 13 November 2017
MF	Aleksandar Tonev	(1990-02-02) 2 February 1990 (age 28)	28	5	Unattached	v.  Saudi Arabia, 13 November 2017
FW	Spas Delev INJ	(1989-09-22) 22 September 1989 (age 29)	20	2	Pogoń Szczecin	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
FW	Radoslav Kirilov	(1992-06-29) 29 June 1992 (age 26)	2	0	Vis Pesaro	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2018
FW	Andrey Galabinov	(1988-11-13) 13 November 1988 (age 29)	10	2	Spezia	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 23 March 2018
FW	Ivaylo Dimitrov	(1989-03-26) 26 March 1989 (age 29)	2	0	Ararat-Armenia	v.  Saudi Arabia, 13 November 2017
INJ = Withdrew from this squad due to injury SUS = Serving suspension PRE = Preliminary squad / standby RET = Retired from international football

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 48 96 0.49 3 Hristo Stoichkov 1987–1999 38 84 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 84 38 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 16 October 2018[42]   Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record Opponents Pld W D L GF GA GD  Albania 13 7 4 2 17 8 +9  Algeria 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3  Andorra 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4  Argentina 9 1 0 8 6 18 −12  Armenia 2 1 0 1 2 2 0  Australia 4 2 2 0 8 4 +4  Austria 8 1 2 5 7 21 −14  Azerbaijan 4 3 1 0 6 2 +4  Belarus 7 5 0 2 12 6 +6  Belgium 14 6 2 6 20 23 −3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 1 0 1 2 2 0  Brazil 8 0 0 8 2 19 −17  Bolivia 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2  Cameroon 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3  Chile 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1  Croatia 8 1 2 5 5 16 −11  Cyprus 14 13 0 1 33 9 +24  Czech Republic[a] 19 7 4 8 17 25 −8  Denmark 16 4 8 4 20 21 −1  East Germany 19 6 8 5 23 24 −1  Ecuador 2 1 0 1 3 4 −1  Egypt 7 2 2 3 8 9 −1  England 10 0 4 6 2 16 −14  Estonia 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2  Finland 8 7 1 0 19 3 +16  France 22 8 4 10 26 38 −12  Georgia 5 3 1 1 15 6 +9  Germany[b] 21 3 2 16 24 56 −32  Ghana 1 1 0 0 10 0 +10  Greece 26 13 7 6 48 35 +13  Hungary 22 5 5 12 24 52 −28  Iceland 5 4 1 0 12 7 +5  India 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4  Indonesia 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3  Iran 1 0 1 0 1 1 0  Israel 6 4 1 1 12 5 +7  Italy 19 2 7 10 16 33 −17  Jamaica 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  Japan 6 4 1 1 13 10 +3  Jordan 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2  Kazakhstan 2 2 0 0 4 2 +2  Kuwait 5 2 3 0 9 6 +3  Latvia 3 3 0 0 6 0 +6  Lebanon 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1  Luxembourg 14 13 1 0 39 9 +30  Lithuania 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3  Macedonia 7 4 1 2 7 3 +4  Malta 13 10 3 0 38 5 +33  Mexico 12 2 6 4 11 14 −3  Moldova 2 2 0 0 7 1 +6  Montenegro 4 1 2 1 7 5 +2  Morocco 6 1 3 2 5 10 −5  Netherlands 12 5 2 5 17 20 −3  New Caledonia 1 1 0 0 5 3 +2  Nigeria 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4  North Korea 3 3 0 0 12 1 +11  Northern Ireland 7 4 1 2 9 7 +2  Norway 16 7 4 5 27 16 +11  Oman 1 0 1 0 1 1 0  Paraguay 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  Peru 5 2 1 2 11 11 0  Poland 27 6 9 12 32 48 −16  Portugal 13 6 3 4 18 16 +2  Republic of Ireland 9 3 4 2 8 10 −2  Romania 37 10 6 21 52 75 −23  Russia[c] 19 2 6 11 17 34 −17  San Marino 2 2 0 0 7 0 +7  Saudi Arabia 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2  Scotland 6 0 3 3 4 10 −6  Serbia[d] 32 7 6 19 43 67 −24  Singapore 1 1 0 0 10 2 +8  Slovakia 7 2 1 4 5 10 −5  Slovenia 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6  South Africa 1 0 1 0 1 1 0  South Korea 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1  Spain 5 0 1 4 2 23 −21  Sweden 16 3 2 11 11 31 −20   Switzerland 10 2 4 4 12 15 −3  Sudan 1 0 1 0 1 1 0  Thailand 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4  Tunisia 2 0 1 1 3 6 −3  Turkey 21 8 6 7 38 34 +4  Ukraine 5 0 2 3 2 7 −5  United Arab Emirates 6 5 0 1 14 4 +10  Uruguay 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3  Wales 8 4 1 3 8 4 +4 Total 682 259 162 261 976 1,009 −33 ^ Includes matches against  Czechoslovakia. ^ Includes matches against  West Germany. ^ Includes matches against the  Soviet Union. ^ Includes matches against  Yugoslavia and  Serbia and Montenegro. 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 References ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em} ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018. ^ Павлов, Стоимен (2014-06-24). "Българският футбол чества исторически годишнини на фона на нерадостна реалност". Radio Bulgaria (in Bulgarian). София: Българско национално радио. Retrieved 1 August 2015. ^ Austria vs Bulgaria match report at EU-Football.info ^ Банов, Георги (2014-03-23). "Българският флаг накартичка от първото световно по футбол". 24 часа (in Bulgarian). София: МГБХ. Retrieved 1 August 2015. ^ "Classic Qualifier: Les Bleus' American nightmare". FIFA. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Three Footballers from Bulgaria's Golden Generation to Join Stoichkov's Birthday Show". Novinite. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "1994 FIFA World Cup USA: Groups". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Group D: Nigeria vs. Bulgaria". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Group D: Bulgaria vs. Greece". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Group D: Argentina vs. Bulgaria". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Round of 16: Mexico vs. Bulgaria". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Bulgarian underdogs catch champions off guard". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Semi-finals: Bulgaria vs. Italy". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "1994 FIFA World Cup USA -Teams: Sweden". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Match for third place: Sweden vs. Bulgaria". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "1994 FIFA World Cup USA: Awards". FIFA. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ Molinaro, John F. (5 January 2011). "History of the Ballon d'Or". CBC Sports. Retrieved 26 March 2016. ^ "Euro 2016: Qualifying". Euro 2016. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ "Hristov header delights Bulgaria in Azerbaijan". UEFA. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ Georgiev, Stoyan (10 October 2014). "Croatia take full advantage of Bulgaria slip". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ Tjærnås, Jørgen (13 October 2014). "Ødegaard breaks record as Norway beat Bulgaria". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ Georgiev, Stoyan (16 November 2014). "Malta make their mark in Sofia". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ "Soccer-Petev returns to Bulgaria to coach national team". Yahoo! News. Reuters. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ "International Friendly: Romania vs. Bulgaria". ESPN FC. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ Georgiev, Stovan (28 March 2015). "Italy debutant Éder thwarts Bulgaria". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ Aquilina, Domenic (12 June 2015). "Popov earns points for Bulgaria in Malta". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ "Norway beat Bulgaria thanks to Forren's first". UEFA. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ "De Rossi penalty edges Italy closer to finals". UEFA. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ Islamović, Elvir (10 October 2015). "Croatia defeat Bulgaria in Čačić's first game". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ "Bulgaria sign off with Azerbaijan success". UEFA. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2016. ^ [1] ^ [2] ^ [3] ^ [4] ^ [5] ^ [6] ^ [7] ^ [8] ^ "FIFA-ranking yearly averages for Bulgaria". Fifa.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018. ^ "Състав на мъжкия национален отбор за мачовете с Кипър и Норвегия" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 2 October 2018. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Bulgaria". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 9 September 2017. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bulgaria national football team. Bulgarian football – history, teams, stadiums, fan clubs RSSSF archive of results 1924– RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers Bulgarian football legends[permanent dead link] 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