TheBulgaria national football team (Bulgarian:Български национален отбор по футбол,romanized: Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol) representsBulgaria in men's internationalfootball, and is administered by theBulgarian Football Union, a member association ofUEFA.
Bulgaria's best achievements are reaching the final at the1968Summer Olympics and the fourth-place finish at theFIFA World Cup in1994. Bulgaria have competed at a total of seven World Cups, debuting in1962 and last appearing in1998. In addition, they have participated in twoEuropean Championships, in1996 and2004, the latter marking their most recent major tournament appearance. The team has also competed at and won three titles in theBalkan Cup.
The Bulgaria national football team was formed in 1922. In 1923, theBulgarian Football Union was formed and the team's first match was held inVienna on 21 May 1924, which resulted in a 6–0 defeat againstAustria.[4] Bulgaria also participated in the1924 Summer Olympics in Paris a few days later.
After being unable to compete in the 1930 World Cup, the Bulgarian side did not qualify for any major tournament for nearly 30 years, narrowly falling short of qualification on numerous occasions. The national team had gone on a streak of finishing 2nd or 3rd in their qualifying groups along with proceeding to the play-offs, but in the end, failing to qualify. Despite their qualifying problems, the national team did manage to defeat many elite teams during memorable international friendlies during those years. The only tournaments they managed to qualify for were smaller ones, such as theBalkan Cup, which they won three times (1931,1932 and1973–76), thus being the competition's second most successful team only behindRomania with four titles.
Bulgaria qualified for theWorld Cup for the first time in its history in1962 and followed that up with consecutive appearances in1966,1970 and1974. The team, however, did not have much success and finished in third place in their group two out of the four times.
Bulgaria took part in qualifiers for theEuropean Championship in1968 and went on to win their group with impressive wins overNorway,Sweden, andPortugal. Although they would go on to lose to the eventual champions and hostsItaly in atwo-legged qualifying play-off.
At the1968 Summer Olympics, the team won the silver medal. They finished first inGroup D by defeatingThailand 7–0,Guatemala 2–1, and drawing 2–2 againstCzechoslovakia. They advanced to the quarter-finals by defeatingIsrael and then the semi-finals by defeating favored hostsMexico. In theOlympic Final, the team was defeated byHungary, in what many would say was a hard-fought match for both sides.
Despite winning theBalkan Cup twice in 1931 and 1932, the Bulgaria national team added two more trophies to their case as they went on to win the tournament in 1973 and 1976. In both 1973 and 1976, Bulgaria had used their previous World Cup experience to create a very tactical team. This paid off quite well, as they had many decisive victories over Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Poland, Albania and Romania. In fact, the team won the 1976 Balkan Cup by beatingRomania in the two-legged final 1–0 and 3–2.
Bulgaria finally qualified for their first World Cup in 1962. Bulgaria was drawn in a tough group with elite opponents inEngland, powerhouseArgentina andHungary. Bulgaria opened up their campaign with a narrow 0–1 loss to Argentina. Later on, Bulgaria would lose their second group match by a 6–1 score to Hungary. Bulgaria's hopes of qualifying were over, but the national team impressively drew with England (who would host and winthe next tournament) 0–0 and finished fourth in the group with only one point.
Bulgaria qualified for their second straight World Cup, drawn into an even tougher group compared to the previous World Cup. They were placed in thegroup of death with superpowers Hungary,Portugal andBrazil, withPelé at the helm. Bulgaria opened their campaign match with a 0–2 loss to Brazil thanks to two free kick goals by Pelé andGarrincha. In their second match Bulgaria loss 0–3 toEusebio's Portugal. Finally, Bulgaria with no chance of advancing to the next round, finished their last match with a 1–3 loss to Hungary. Bulgaria once again finished fourth with zero points in the group.
After their poor World Cup performance, Bulgaria was determined to redeem themselves. Bulgaria was drawn in a very tough group for qualifying, with Norway and Sweden, along with Eusebio's Portugal. Bulgaria started off with a 4–2 win over Norway. They would add to their winning streak with a 2–0 victory against Sweden. In their next two matches Bulgaria would draw 0–0 against Norway, and dominate Sweden 3–0. In their final two group fixtures Bulgaria played Portugal to a 1–0 victory at home and an 0–0 draw on the road, but it was enough to advance to the two-legged qualifying play-off. There Bulgaria were drawn against eventual Euro 1968 host Italy. Italy were defeated in the first leg 3–2, but won the second by a 0–2 score to advance 4–3 on aggregate. Italy would win the playoff and go on to win the tournament, while Bulgaria was eliminated from reaching the finals.
Georgi Asparuhov was considered Bulgaria's first playing legend, leading Bulgaria to four straight World Cups, the 1968 Euro Cup quarter-final (qualifier) and the 1968 Olympic tournament final
A month and a half after the European Championship qualifying came the Olympics, which Bulgaria had qualified for the fifth time in their history. They were drawn in a simple group with Thailand, Guatemala and Czechoslovakia. Bulgaria started off with a 7–0 thrashing of Thailand. They later went on and drew with Czechoslovakia 2–2 to increase their point standards. Their final match once again determined if they would carry on to the quarter-finals. Needing a decisive win, Bulgaria went on to defeat Guatemala 2–1 and win their Olympic group. They qualified directly to the quarter-finals facing underdogs, Israel. The game remained 1–1 for most of the match until a drawing of lots determined who would go on to the semi-finals of the tournament. Winning the draw Bulgaria advanced to the semi-finals against Mexico. After a very hard-fought match, Bulgaria proved stronger as they came out on top with a 3–2 victory. Bulgaria advanced to the finals for the first time in their Olympic history. They were determined to win the gold medal, but fell short with a 1–4 loss to Hungary. Although battling hard, Bulgaria came out with the silver medal.
Bulgaria qualified for their third straight World Cup, held in Mexico, just like the 1968 Olympics. They were drawn in a very tricky group withGermany,Peru andMorocco. Bulgaria played their first match against Peru, losing 3–2. Germany won Bulgaria's second match, 5–2. The last group stage match ended 1–1; Bulgaria ended up in 3rd place.
The1974 World Cup was held in West Germany. They were drawn in a decently tough group, with theNetherlands, Sweden andUruguay. Bulgaria started off with a goalless draw with Sweden, having the better of the first half but missing chances, with Sweden coming into the game in the 2nd. They then drew again, this time 1–1 with Uruguay - the South Americans equalising late on to deny Bulgaria a first World Cup victory. As the final match came, Bulgaria had to beat highly fancied Netherlands to progress - but fell by a 4–1 score to the eventual finalists. Bulgaria remained in third place in the group stages.
Bulgaria qualified for the1986 World Cup inMexico by finishing second in Group Four, behindFrance with 11 points, but ahead of powerful rivalsYugoslavia andEast Germany. This was their fifth World Cup appearance. They were drawn in Group A withItaly,Argentina, andSouth Korea. In the opening match of the World Cup, the Bulgarians held the defending champions Italy to an impressive 1–1 draw.Alessandro Altobelli gave the Italians the lead, but an 85th-minute equalizer byNasko Sirakov gave the Bulgarians the point they needed. The next match was another 1–1 draw against South Korea with the goal for Bulgaria coming fromPlamen Getov in the 11th minute. They lost the final match of the group 2–0 against Argentina, who eventually won the tournament. Despite not recording a win, the Bulgarians advanced to the knockout stage by being the third-best third-placed team. By doing so, Bulgaria along withUruguay 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 hostsMexico, who were looking for revenge due to their previous home Olympic semi-final loss to Bulgaria in Mexico City in 1968. The match was hard-fought from both sides of the scale but ultimately, Mexico came away with the 2–0 win.
One of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is 17 November 1993, whenEmil Kostadinov scored a deciding goal in the 90th minute to beatFrance inParis, allowing Bulgaria to qualify for the1994 World Cup in the United States. Under the management ofDimitar Penev, the Bulgarians, led by players such asHristo Stoichkov,Yordan Lechkov, andKrasimir Balakov, along with other talented players remembered in Bulgaria as the "Golden Generation", made a strong impression by surprisingly reaching the semi-finals. They entered a tough Group D with1990 World Cup runners-upArgentina withDiego Maradona at the helm, African Nations Cup championsNigeria, and Balkan rivalsGreece. The first match ended with a 3–0 defeat toNigeria. Despite the bad start, the team made an statement by winning 4–0 against their neighbours Greece – their first ever win in a World Cup. Their third and final match came against Argentina: the Bulgarian side came away with a shocking 2–0 victory. Going into injury-time, Argentina was leading the group but a 91st-minute strike fromNasko Sirakov, however, meant that they'd drop two places and finish third.
Bulgaria continued to the round of 16, where they facedMexico. Stoichkov opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an strike on a break away from outside the box, tallying his fourth goal. The match ended 1–1 and after no goals were scored in extra time, penalties decided which team would go through. Team captainBorislav Mihaylov saved the first three penalty kicks, breaking the World Cup record. Bulgaria won 3–1 on penalties. In the quarter-finals, Bulgaria faced the defending world championsGermany. At the start of the match, held inGiants Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, the Bulgarians dominated, hitting the post twice in the process, but eventually found themselves behind afterLothar Matthäus scored the opening goal for the Germans. The Bulgarians, however, managed to turn the game over with a swerving free kick byHristo Stoichkov and a flying header byYordan Lechkov, giving them a 2–1 win. In the semi-finals, they controversially lost 2–1 toItaly. Stoichkov scored Bulgaria's only goal in the first half to tally his seventh goal, which led the tournament. In the second half, Bulgaria had penalty call waved off, when an Italian defender committed a handball in the box from a Kostadinov cross. The game ended and instead of playing in the final, it became a third-place play-off. Bulgaria played Sweden for third place, but on a rare off-day were blown away by four first half goals, losing 4-0. Bulgaria, ultimately finished in the final four by reaching the semi finals, their best ever performance.
Hristo Stoichkov was awarded theGolden Boot shared withOleg Salenko as the top scorer in the tournament with his six goals.Krasimir Balakov was named in the 1994 World Cup Dream Team along with Stoichkov. Later on in December, Stoichkov was awarded the1994 Ballon d'Or trophy for his great skill and leadership, becoming the first Bulgarian and third Barcelona player to win it in history.[citation needed]
In 1996, the team qualified for theEuropean Football Championship for the first time. They were drawn in Group B withFrance,Spain, andRomania. Bulgaria started with a 1–1 draw against Spain. Stoichkov has a second goal, a volley, ruled offside. Bulgaria defeated Romania 1–0 in the next group stage match. Stoichkov scored in the third minute. In the final group match, the Bulgarian side lost 3–1 against France; Stoichkov scored a free kick to give Bulgaria their only goal of the game, along with their only loss. At the same time, Spain defeated Romania 2–1, and Bulgaria were eliminated.
Bulgaria qualified for the1998 World Cup in France by finishing first in Group 5, with decisive wins overRussia. They entered the competition with new managerHristo Bonev. Bulgaria drewSpain,Nigeria, andParaguay in Group D. The first match ended decently, in a goalless draw against eventual group runners-up Paraguay – a game the Bulgarians more than held their own in. In the second match, the Bulgarians lost 1–0 for a second-straight World Cup to Nigeria. The final match ended with a 6–1 defeat to Spain – a game both sides had to win and in which time finally caught up with the Bulgarians, against a talented Spanish team who only began to play in the final game. Following the bad results, Bulgaria finished fourth in the group, with only one point. This was the last World Cup appearance for Bulgaria.
Bulgaria was drawn in a tough group withEngland,Sweden, andPoland in qualification forEuro 2000. The campaign started slow with a draw and a defeat by Poland and Sweden. The most memorable match for Bulgaria in the group was the 1–1 draw against England, which was also the last match for Stoichkov before his international retirement. Bulgaria finished fourth with eight points and failed to make the final stages of the competition.
Bulgaria was once again drawn into a tough group withDenmark andCzech Republic. The group was also the debut of Bulgaria's top-scoring legendDimitar Berbatov. Bulgaria won the matches against the weaker teams, but lost once and drew once with both Denmark and the Czech Republic. Bulgaria finished third with 17 points, three points behind second-placed Czech Republic, thus failing to make theWorld Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Bulgaria managed to qualify for theEuro 2004 in Portugal by finishing first with wins overCroatia andBelgium. They drewSweden,Italy, andDenmark in Group C. All three group stage matches ended up in losses for Bulgaria. Sweden thrashed them 5-0 in the opener, while the 2-0 defeat to Denmark was only marginally better. However in the final gameMartin Petrov became the team's lone scorer in the country's 1–2 loss to Italy - a game only lost in the final minute.
Bulgaria failed to qualify for theWorld Cup in Germany after a run of poor results. They drew with Sweden and Croatia in the first fixtures, but lost the other meetings to the two sides. Although Berbatov scored many goals in the qualifiers including a last-minute equalizer against Croatia, Bulgaria finished third in qualifying with 15 points.
Bulgaria found themselves in a minor tournament in Japan known as theKirin Cup. They started off well with a 2–1 victory over the hostsJapan. However, Bulgaria lost 5–1 toScotland, the eventual cup champions. Bulgaria finished as the runners-up and received the silver medal.
Group G of Euro 2008 qualification hadNetherlands,Romania, and Bulgaria attempting to qualify forEuro 2008, hosted by Switzerland and Austria. Bulgaria performed well after a run of good results against Romania which gave them the first place. Bulgaria finished third in the group falling short on one point behind the Netherlands.
Bulgaria in 2010
Bulgaria were drawn againstItaly andIreland in qualifying inGroup 8. Bulgaria started the campaign with a series of draws. ManagerPlamen Markov was replaced byStanimir Stoilov in January 2009. The Bulgarians then recorded their first wins of the group overCyprus,Montenegro andGeorgia. They finished in third place with 14 points, therefore failing to qualify to a play-off spot.
In the qualification phase for the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Bulgaria were placed in Group B together with the teams ofItaly,Denmark,Czech Republic,Armenia andMalta. Under the guidance of former playerLyuboslav Penev as head coach, Bulgaria enjoyed a revival and some noteworthy performances in friendly matches before the start of the qualifying, including a 2–1 victory over2010 World Cup runners-upNetherlands in Amsterdam. The qualifying began with a 2–2 draw againstEuro 2012 runners-up Italy. Bulgaria then edged a tight match against Armenia, which ended 1–0. Next, Bulgaria drew 1–1 against Denmark. Four days later, Bulgaria earned a hard-fought 0–0 draw away to the Czech Republic. As a result, the team climbed from 96th in theFIFA World Rankings, their lowest position in history, to 40th in November 2012.
The national team in 2012
Penev's players hosted and defeated Malta 6–0 under heavy snowfall. Four days later, Bulgaria drew Denmark 1–1 in Copenhagen. This result left Bulgaria second in the group with 10 points, still undefeated. Bulgaria traveled to Italy, losing 1–0. After a series of poor results, Bulgaria ended up failing to qualify for Brazil 2014.
Bulgaria were placed in a group with Italy, Croatia, Norway, Azerbaijan, and Malta. Bulgaria opened up their first match with a 2–1 victory over Azerbaijan. They were defeated 1–0 by Croatia, following another 2–1 defeat to Norway. To make it worse, Bulgaria drew with Malta 1–1 at home, which would cost managerLyuboslav Penev his position. He was replaced byLudogorets Razgrad managerIvaylo Petev.
On his debut match, Petev's squad drew Romania 0-0; this later led to a 2–2 draw with Italy, which Bulgaria led until a last-minute Italian equalizer. Bulgaria defeated Malta 1–0 to edge two points ever closer to the third place playoff position. After a series of losses, Bulgaria failed to qualify forEuro 2016 in France despite a 2–0 defeat of Azerbaijan.
Bulgaria were drawn in a strong World Cup qualification group with theNetherlands,France,Sweden,Belarus andLuxembourg. They began with a 4–3 win against Luxembourg at home.[5] This was followed by heavy losses to France (4–1) and Sweden (3–0).[6][7] In November 2016, the Lions beat Belarus in Sofia 1–0,[8] and then put up one of their best performances in recent years, beating the Netherlands 2–0 to move into third place in the group.[9] Bulgaria then beat the group leaders Sweden 3–2 in Sofia to move one point behind their opponents in the table.[10] However, they lost the match against the Netherlands at theAmsterdam Arena 3–1. A 1–0 defeat at home to France and a 1–1 draw in Luxembourg ended their chances of qualifying.[11]
Bulgaria were drawn inUEFA Nations League C with Norway, Slovenia and Cyprus. Bulgaria opened up the campaign with a 2–1 win over Slovenia and a clean sheet against Norway. The Norwegians eventually avenged their loss to Bulgaria, resulting in a tie for first place. Bulgaria eventually closed out the second round of games with two 1–1 draws against Slovenia and Cyprus, resulting in a second-place finish.
Bulgaria was drawn in Group A with England, Czech Republic, Montenegro andKosovo. The team began the qualifying campaign with a 1–1 home draw against Montenegro and a 1–1 away draw to Kosovo while losing three major players due to injuries.[12] They later carried on with two more losses which sparked the end of their group campaign. Despite finishing in fourth place, the national side had one more opportunity to qualify for theEuros thanks to the good performance in the Nations League. It sent Bulgaria to the Path Aqualifying play-offs, which also included Hungary, Iceland and Romania.
The draw put Bulgaria against Hungary in their first play-off match on their quest to qualify for a major competition since 2004. However, in front of limited number of home fans, Bulgaria fell 1–3 to Hungary, and was eliminated from the tournament.[13]
After appointingGeorgi Dermendzhiev as their new head coach, Bulgaria began their brief promotion inLeague B. Being drawn into Group 4 with Wales, Finland and Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria played its first match against Ireland. A near victory for the Bulgarians until a 90th minute injury time equalizer sealed the draw for the Irish.[14] Bulgaria would then play away to Wales, where they held the hosts leveled 0–0 until another 90th minute injury time goal that resulted in 0–1 loss. The problems would continue with another set of narrow losses to Finland and Wales, forcing Bulgaria to miss out on promotion to League A. With two more matches left, Bulgaria finished winless against Finland and Ireland, relegating the Lions to League C.
Yasen Petrov was hired as the coach prior to the qualifiers for the2022 World Cup. Bulgaria began the campaign horribly, losing at home 1–3 to Switzerland and 0–2 to Italy. The team somewhat improved in the next two games, drawing away at Northern Ireland and Italy, the reigning European champions. Bulgaria then beat Lithuania 1–0 at home, but lost 1–3 away against the same team, ending their hopes for qualification. A 2–1 home win against Northern Ireland was only a brief moment of rejoice before a heavy 0–4 defeat to Switzerland ended a largely miserable attempt for qualifying.
Bulgaria was allocated toLeague C for the 2022–23 Nations League season, after relegation from the previous edition. Bulgaria's opponents were drawn to be North Macedonia, Georgia and Gibraltar. The campaign began with a 1–1 draw against North Macedonia at home, followed by a heavy 2–5 loss against Georgia at home. Yasen Petrov handed his resignation following the game.Georgi Ivanov was appointed as interim manager for the next two games against Gibraltar and Georgia. Another shameful performance followed, when the Lions drew 1–1 in Gibraltar, which was one of only few times that the Gibraltar national team had not lost a competitive game in its history. In Georgia, Bulgaria drew 0–0, extending the winless streak to four games. During the one month pause of the tournament, SerbianMladen Krstajić was appointed as manager. Under his reins, Bulgaria recorded two wins against Gibraltar at home and North Macedonia away, eventually finishing second in the group. The game against North Macedonia was particularly intense, due to rising political tensions between the two countries at that time. The Bulgarian national anthem was heavily booed, followed by multiple provocations from both Macedonian fans and players aimed at the Bulgarian team.
Bulgaria had a roughEuro 2024 qualifying campaign finishing in the lower half of their group. The group consisted of Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro and Lithuania. The poor run for Bulgaria resulted in theBulgarian Football Union to appointIlian Iliev as new manager.[15] Iliev started off his first two matches leading Bulgaria to draws against Serbia and Hungary, both games ending with a 2–2 score. With Iliev at the helm, Bulgaria have remained unbeaten in all their matches for nearly a year.
Bulgaria were drawn in Group 3 of theUEFA Nations League C division with Northern Ireland, Belarus and Luxembourg. Despite having a successful campaign with a win over powerful contenders, Northern Ireland, they ultimately finished in second. Qualifying themselves to League B playoffs, Bulgaria faced the Republic of Ireland in a two legged set of matches. Bulgaria narrowly lost both matches by the score of 2–1, resulting in no League B promotion.
Bulgaria's traditional colours are white, green and red, taken from the colours of thecountry's flag. This tricolour is reflected through the use of white shirts, green shorts, and red socks. The team's away kits have usually been red.
Their nickname is The Lions, in tribute of the lions represented in thecoat of arms of Bulgaria.
In recent years,ultras of the Bulgarian team have developed a reputation for racism. After racistchanting and monkey noises directed atAshley Young,Ashley Cole andTheo Walcott during a qualifier for Euro 2012, the Bulgarian Football Union was fined €40,000 by UEFA.[16] The BFU denied that racism would be an issue during Euro 2020 qualifiers, claiming that the issue was worse in England.[17] Nevertheless, Bulgarian ultras were accused of racist chants during their matches against Czech Republic, Kosovo and England. As a result, part of the Bulgarian stadium was closed off for the match against England (October 2019), and officials twice halted the game under the UEFA anti-racism protocol.[18] In the following days since the match took place, Bulgarian police identified 15 fans they suspected were responsible for subjecting black English players includingRaheem Sterling,Marcus Rashford andTyrone Mings to racist abuse, arresting six of them.[19]
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin condemned the alleged abuse calling on the "football family and governments" to "wage war on the racists".[20] Disciplinary proceedings have been launched against both Bulgaria and England.[21]
Traditionally, the Bulgaria national football team's home stadium is theVasil Levski National Stadium with a capacity of 44,000. The stadium was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002. It is the second largest stadium in Bulgaria, behind thePlovdiv Stadium with a capacity of 55,000. During the2006–07 UEFA Champions League, the stadium was used forLevski Sofia matches withBarcelona,Chelsea, andWerder Bremen. Similarly,Ludogorets Razgrad used it as their main home venue for their European matches until the2017–18 season. The Bulgaria national team's home matches, Bulgarian Cup finals and theEternal derby of Bulgaria are held at the venue, as well as athletics competitions.
TheHuvepharma Arena inRazgrad has been occasionally hosting the national team's matches since 2018. Opened in 1954 and renovated in 2011, the stadium has a capacity of 10,422.
Another stadium that is used for the national team's matches is the freshly renovatedHristo Botev Stadium inPlovdiv, with a capacity of 18,777.
