Founded 1923 Fifa 1924
Bulgaria have no winning pedigree in international football competitions; yet they are always there setting a stern test for the more fancied teams.
I wonder what are the Bulgarian players thinking? Could they be saying ‘ Our time has come, we have as good a chance as anyone’. Or is their attitude: ‘We are just here for a holiday’? Unsurprisingly, one of the first teams to exit the championships.
Previous qualifications: Reached quarterfinals 1964 and 1968. Lost in first round in 1996.
Most famous player: Stoikovich
| Group C | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden (20) Q | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | |
| Denmark (14) Q | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| Italy (11) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| Bulgaria (37) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | |
| (Fifa Ranking) | Only games between equal teams count. So disregard Bulgaria scores /goals | |||||||
| Group 8 | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | PTS | |
| Bulgaria | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 17 | |
| Croatia | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 16 | |
| Belgium | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 16 | |
| Estonia | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |
| Andorra | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
Coach: Plamen Markov
Men to watch: Martin Petrov, Stilian Petrov. Radostin Kishishev, Dimitar Berbatov Svetoslav Todorov Injured.
Goalkeepers
Dimitar Ivankov
Stoyan Kolev
Georgi Petkov
Defenders
Rosen Kirilov
Nikolai Krastev
Predrag Pazin
Gueorgui Petrov
Martin Stankov
Ilian Stoianov
Elin Topuzakov
Zlatomir Zagorcic
Zhivko Zhelev
Midfielders
Alexandar Alexandrov
Daniel Borimirov
Marian Hristov
Radostin Kishishev
Georgi Peev
Milen Petkov
Svetoslav Petrov
Stilian Petrov
Todor Yanchev
Forwards
Dimitar Berbatov
Georgi Chilikov
Velizar Dimitrov
Georgi Ivanov
Zoran Jankovic
Vladimir Manchev
Martin Petrov
Stoyko Sakaliev
Dian Todorov (Injured)
Which country was in the play-offs both in 2000 and 2004?
Latvia
Bulgaria
Denmark
Russia
Turkey
