Bulgaria national football team

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 Vienna on 21 May 1924, which resulted in a 6–0 defeat against Austria.[2] Bulgaria also participated in the 1924 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. It also seemed as if the only tournaments they managed to qualify for were smaller tournaments, such as the Balkan Cup, which they won four times.

Bulgaria vs. Sweden 0 – 0, 1974 FIFA World Cup

Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history in 1962 and followed that up with consecutive appearances in 1966, 1970 and 1974. The team, however, did not have much success and finished in third place in their group three out of the four times.

Bulgaria took part in qualifiers for the European Championship in 1968 and went on to win their group with impressive wins over Norway, Sweden, and Portugal. Although they would go on to lose to the eventual champions and hosts Italy in a two-legged qualifying play-off.

At the 1968 Summer Olympics, the team won the silver medal. They finished first in Group D by defeating Thailand 7–0, Guatemala 2–1, and drawing 2–2 against Czechoslovakia. They advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Israel and then the semi-finals by defeating favored hosts Mexico. In the Olympic Final, the team was defeated by Hungary, in what many would say was a hard-fought match for both sides.

Despite winning the Balkan 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 beating Romania in the two-legged final 1–0 and 3–2.

Bulgaria finally qualified for their second world cup. Bulgaria was drawn in a tough group with elite opponents in England, powerhouse Argentina and Hungary. 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 future 1966 World Cup champions England 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 the group of death with superpowers Hungary, Portugal and Brazil, with Pelé at the helm. Bulgaria opened their campaign match with a 0–2 loss to Brazil thanks to two free kick goals by Pelé and Garrincha. In their second match Bulgaria loss 0-3 to Eusebio'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.

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 with Germany, Peru and Morocco. 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.

The 1974 World Cup was held in West Germany. They were drawn in a decently tough group, with the Netherlands, Sweden and Uruguay. Bulgaria started off with a goalless draw with Sweden. They drew again, this time 1–1 with Uruguay. As the final match came, Bulgaria fell by a 4–1 score. Bulgaria remained in third place in the group stages.

Bulgaria qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico by finishing second in Group Four, behind France with 11 points, but ahead of powerful rivals Yugoslavia and Germany. 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 an impressive 1–1 draw. Alessandro Altobelli gave the Italians the lead, but an 85th-minute equalizer by Nasko 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 from Plamen 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 with 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, 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.

Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is 17 November 1993, a date where Emil Kostadinov scored two goals in the 90th minute 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 surprisingly reaching the semi-finals. They entered a very tough Group D with 1990 World Cup runners-up Argentina with Diego Maradona at the helm, African Nations Cup champions Nigeria, and Balkan rivals Greece. The first match ended with a 3–0 defeat to Nigeria. Despite the bad start, the team made quite a huge statement by winning 4–0 against their Greece and increasing their goal difference. Their third and final match came against Argentina. The powerful Bulgarian side came away with a shocking 2–0 victory. Going into injury-time, Argentina was leading the group. A 91st-minute strike from Nasko Sirakov, however, meant that they'd drop two places and finish third.

Bulgaria continued to the round of 16, where they faced Mexico. Stoichkov opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an incredible strike off 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 captain Borislav Mihaylov saved the first three penalty kicks in a row, breaking the World Cup record. Bulgaria won 3–1 on penalties. In the quarter-finals, Bulgaria faced the defending world champions Germany. At the start of the match held in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Bulgarians dominated impressively, hitting the post twice in the process. The Bulgarians, however, managed to turn the game over with a swerving free kick by Hristo Stoichkov and a flying header by Yordan Lechkov, giving them a 2–1 win. In the semi-finals, they controversially lost 2–1 to Italy. Stoichkov scored Bulgaria's only goal in the first half to tally his seventh goal, which led the tournament. In the second half, Bulgaria were waved off a penalty in which an Italian defender had clearly committed a handball in the box, off a Kostadinov cross. Instead of playing in the final, it became a third place play-off. Bulgaria lost against Sweden with 4-0, but fourth place still was Bulgarias best performance in history.

Hristo Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot shared with Oleg 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 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.

In 1996, the team qualified for the European Football Championship for the first time. They were drawn in Group B with France, Spain, and Romania. Bulgaria started with a 1–1 draw against the Spain. Stoichkov scored his second goal with a wonderful 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 the 1998 World Cup in France by finishing first in Group 5, with decisive wins over Russia. They entered the competition with new manager Hristo Bonev. Bulgaria drew Spain, Nigeria, and Paraguay in Group D. The first match ended decently, in a goalless draw against eventual group winners Paraguay. 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. 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 qualifying group with teams England, Sweden, and Poland. 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 Euro 2000.

Bulgaria was once again drawn into a tough group with Denmark and Czech Republic. The group was also the debut of Bulgaria's top scoring legend Dimitar 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 the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Bulgaria managed to qualify for the Euro 2004 in Portugal by finishing first with wins over Croatia and Belgium. They drew Sweden, Italy, and Denmark in Group C. All three group stage matches ended up in losses for Bulgaria.

Bulgaria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany after a run of poor results. They tied with Sweden and Croatia the first run 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 still finished third in qualifying with 15 points.

Bulgaria found themselves in a minor tournament in Japan known as the Kirin Cup. They started off well with a 2–1 victory over the hosts Japan. However, Bulgaria lost 5–1 to Scotland, the eventual cup champions. Bulgaria finished as the runners-up and received the silver medal.

Group G of Euro 2008 qualification had Netherlands, Romania, and Bulgaria attempting to qualify for Euro 2008, hosted by Switzerland and Austria. Bulgaria performed well after a run of good results against Romania which gave them the first place. Bulgaria went on to the playoffs but drew the first match 1–1 along with losing their second match 2–0.

Bulgaria in 2010

Bulgaria were drawn against Italy and Ireland in qualifying in Group 8. Bulgaria started the campaign with a series of draws. Manager Plamen Markov was replaced by Stanimir Stoilov in January 2009. The Bulgarians then recorded their first wins of the group over Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia. They finished in third place with 14 points, therefore failing to qualify to a play-off spot.

The national team in 2012

Bulgaria were drawn in Group G along with England, Switzerland, Wales, and Montenegro. Bulgaria finished in last place in the group.

In the qualification phase for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, 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 some noteworthy performances in friendly matches before the start of the qualifying, including a 2–1 victory over 2010 World Cup runners-up Netherlands in Amsterdam. The qualifying began with a 2–2 draw against Euro 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 earning a hard-fought 0–0 draw away to the Czech Republic. As a result, the team climbed from 96th in the FIFA World Rankings, their lowest position in history, to 40th in November 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 manager Lyuboslav Penev his position. He was replaced by Ludogorets Razgrad manager Ivaylo 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 for Euro 2016 in France despite a 2–0 defeat of Azerbaijan.

Bulgaria were drawn in a strong World Cup qualification group with the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Belarus and Luxembourg. They began with a 4–3 win against Luxembourg at home.[3] This was followed by heavy losses to France (4–1) and Sweden (3–0).[4][5] In November 2016, the Lions beat Belarus in Sofia 1–0,[6] 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.[7] Bulgaria then beat the group leaders Sweden 3–2 in Sofia to move one point behind their opponents in the table.[8] However, they lost the match against the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena 3–1. A 1–0 defeat at home to France and a 1–1 draw in Luxembourg ended their chances of qualifying.[9]

Bulgaria were drawn in UEFA 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 and Kosovo. 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.[10] 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 the Euros thanks to the good performance in the Nations League. It sent Bulgaria to the Path A qualifying 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.[11][12]

After appointing Georgi Dermendzhiev as their new head coach, Bulgaria began their brief promotion in League 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.[13] 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 two matches left, Bulgaria finished winless against Finland and Ireland, relegating the Lions to League C.

In recent years, ultras of the Bulgarian team have developed a reputation for racism. After racist chanting and monkey noises directed at Ashley Young, Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott during a qualifier for Euro 2012, the Bulgarian Football Union was fined €40,000 by UEFA.[14] The BFU denied that racism would be an issue during Euro 2020 qualifiers, claiming that the issue was worse in England.[15] 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.[16] In the following days since the match took place, Bulgarian police identified 15 fans they suspected were responsible for subjecting black English players including Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Tyrone Mings to racist abuse, arresting six of them.[17]

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin condemned the alleged abuse calling on the "football family and governments" to "wage war on the racists".[18] Disciplinary proceedings have been launched against both Bulgaria and England.[19]

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter										Declined invitation
1934	Did not qualify										3	0	0	3	3	14
1938											2	0	1	1	1	7
1950	Did not enter										Declined participation
1954	Did not qualify										4	0	1	3	3	7
1958											4	2	0	2	11	7
1962	Group stage	15th	3	0	1	2	1	7	Squad		5	4	0	1	7	4
1966	Group stage	15th	3	0	0	3	1	8	Squad		5	4	0	1	11	7
1970	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	5	9	Squad		6	4	1	1	12	7
1974	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	2	5	Squad		6	4	2	0	13	3
1978	Did not qualify										4	1	2	1	5	6
1982											8	4	1	3	11	10
1986	Round of 16	15th	4	0	2	2	2	6	Squad		8	5	1	2	13	5
1990	Did not qualify										6	1	1	4	6	8
1994	Fourth place	4th	7	3	1	3	10	11	Squad		10	6	2	2	19	10
1998	Group stage	29th	3	0	1	2	1	7	Squad		8	6	0	2	18	9
2002	Did not qualify										10	5	2	3	14	15
2006											10	4	3	3	17	17
2010											10	3	5	2	17	13
2014											10	3	4	3	14	9
2018											10	4	1	5	14	19
2022	To be determined										To be determined
2026
Total	Fourth place	7/21	26	3	8	15	22	53	—		129	60	27	42	209	177

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not qualify										2	0	1	1	1	3
1964											2	1	0	1	2	3
1968											8	5	2	1	13	4
1972											6	3	1	2	11	7
1976											6	2	2	2	12	7
1980											8	2	1	5	6	14
1984											6	2	1	3	7	8
1988											8	4	2	2	12	6
1992											8	3	3	2	15	8
1996	Group stage	11th	3	1	1	1	3	4	Squad		10	7	1	2	24	10
2000	Did not qualify										8	2	2	4	6	8
2004	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	1	9	Squad		8	5	2	1	13	4
2008	Did not qualify										12	7	4	1	18	7
2012											8	1	2	5	3	13
2016											10	3	2	5	9	12
2020											9	1	3	5	7	20
2024	To be determined										To be determined
Total	Group stage	2/16	6	1	1	4	4	13	—		119	48	29	42	159	134

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Nations League record
Season**	Division	Group	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	C	3	6	3	2	1	7	5		29th
2020–21	B	4	6	0	2	4	2	7		31st
2022–23	C	To be determined
Total			12	3	4	5	9	12	29th

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Group stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.

Balkan Cup record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1931	Fourth place	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	Third place	3rd	3	1	0	2	2	11
1935	Fourth place	4th	3	1	0	2	7	8
1935	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	1	0	12	5
1936	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	6	8
1946	Fourth place	4th	3	0	1	2	4	7
1947	Fourth place	4th	4	1	0	3	5	14
1948*	Group stage	3rd	5	2	1	2	6	7
1976	Champions	1st	4	2	0	2	10	9
1980	Group stage	3rd	4	1	1	2	4	6
Total	3 Titles	12/12	42	18	4	20	81	99

*Competition abandoned with Bulgaria in third place.

The following players have been called up for the matches against Gibraltar on 11 November 2020, Finland on 18 November 2020 and Republic of Ireland on 18 November 2020.[23]
Caps and goals as of 18 November 2020 after the match against Republic of Ireland.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Martin Lukov	(1993-07-05) 5 July 1993	4	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
23	1GK	Ivan Karadzhov	(1989-07-12) 12 July 1989	0	0	Arda Kardzhali
	2DF	Petar Zanev (Captain)	(1985-10-18) 18 October 1985	44	0	CSKA Sofia
2	2DF	Strahil Popov	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990	34	0	Hatayspor
5	2DF	Kristian Dimitrov	(1997-02-27) 27 February 1997	12	1	Hajduk Split
6	2DF	Cicinho	(1988-12-26) 26 December 1988	5	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
3	2DF	Georgi Angelov	(1990-11-12) 12 November 1990	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora
4	2DF	Aleksandar Vasilev	(1995-04-27) 27 April 1995	1	0	Beroe Stara Zagora
14	2DF	Radoslav Terziev	(1994-08-06) 6 August 1994	0	0	Montana
16	3MF	Kristiyan Malinov	(1994-03-30) 30 March 1994	18	0	OH Leuven
18	3MF	Galin Ivanov	(1988-04-15) 15 April 1988	16	1	CSKA 1948
22	3MF	Aleksandar Tsvetkov	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990	11	1	Beroe Stara Zagora
17	3MF	Bircent Karagaren	(1992-12-06) 6 December 1992	7	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
11	3MF	Yanis Karabelyov	(1996-01-23) 23 January 1996	6	0	Kisvárda
21	3MF	Svetoslav Kovachev	(1998-03-14) 14 March 1998	4	0	Arda Kardzhali
7	3MF	Dominik Yankov	(2000-07-28) 28 July 2000	3	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
12	3MF	Denislav Aleksandrov	(1997-07-17) 17 July 1997	1	0	CSKA 1948
8	3MF	Serkan Yusein	(1996-03-31) 31 March 1996	0	0	CSKA 1948
9	4FW	Spas Delev	(1989-09-22) 22 September 1989	29	2	Arda Kardzhali
10	4FW	Bozhidar Kraev	(1997-06-23) 23 June 1997	22	3	Famalicão
20	4FW	Dimitar Iliev	(1988-09-25) 25 September 1988	6	2	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
	4FW	Georgi Yomov	(1997-07-06) 6 July 1997	4	2	CSKA Sofia

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	Hristiyan Vasilev	(1997-12-05) 5 December 1997	0	0	Beroe Stara Zagora	v.  Republic of Ireland, 18 November 2020 COVID
GK	Plamen Iliev	(1991-11-30) 30 November 1991	17	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v.  Gibraltar, 11 November 2020 INJ
GK	Nikolay Mihaylov	(1988-06-28) 28 June 1988	38	0	Levski Sofia	v.  Gibraltar, 11 November 2020 COVID
GK	Georgi Georgiev	(1988-10-12) 12 October 1988	5	0	Cherno More Varna	v.  Wales, 14 October 2020 COVID
GK	Daniel Naumov	(1998-03-29) 29 March 1998	0	0	CSKA 1948	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020
DF	Vasil Bozhikov (3rd captain)	(1988-06-02) 2 June 1988	30	2	Slovan Bratislava	v.  Republic of Ireland, 18 November 2020 COVID
DF	Dimitar Velkovski	(1995-01-22) 22 January 1995	3	0	Cercle Brugge	v.  Republic of Ireland, 18 November 2020 COVID
DF	Valentin Antov	(2000-11-09) 9 November 2000	3	0	Bologna	v.  Finland, 15 November 2020 U21
DF	Viktor Popov	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000	3	0	Cherno More Varna	v.  Finland, 15 November 2020 U21
DF	Anton Nedyalkov	(1993-04-30) 30 April 1993	19	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v.  Gibraltar, 11 November 2020 COVID
DF	Georgi Terziev	(1992-04-18) 18 April 1992	16	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v.  Gibraltar, 11 November 2020 COVID
DF	Tsvetomir Panov	(1989-04-17) 17 April 1989	1	0	Cherno More Varna	v.  Wales, 14 October 2020
DF	Ivan Goranov	(1992-06-10) 10 June 1992	7	0	Charleroi	v.  Wales, 6 September 2020
DF	Plamen Galabov	(1995-11-02) 2 November 1995	1	0	CSKA Sofia	v.  Wales, 6 September 2020
DF	Stanislav Rabotov	(2002-06-14) 14 June 2002	0	0	Botev Plovdiv	v.  Wales, 6 September 2020
DF	Angel Lyaskov	(1998-03-16) 16 March 1998	1	0	CSKA 1948	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020
DF	Ivan Turitsov	(1999-07-18) 18 July 1999	1	0	CSKA Sofia	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020 COVID
DF	Stefan Velkov	(1996-12-12) 12 December 1996	1	0	MSV Duisburg	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020
DF	Andrea Hristov	(1999-03-01) 1 March 1999	0	0	Slavia Sofia	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020
MF	Martin Raynov	(1992-04-25) 25 April 1992	7	0	Levski Sofia	v.  Finland, 15 November 2020 COVID
MF	Todor Nedelev	(1993-02-07) 7 February 1993	33	2	Botev Plovdiv	v.  Gibraltar, 11 November 2020 INJ
MF	Georgi Kostadinov (vice captain)	(1990-09-07) 7 September 1990	25	3	Arsenal Tula	v.  Gibraltar, 11 November 2020 INJ
MF	Filip Krastev	(2001-10-15) 15 October 2001	1	0	Troyes	v.  Wales, 14 October 2020
MF	Borislav Tsonev	(1995-04-29) 29 April 1995	0	0	Levski Sofia	v.  Hungary, 8 October 2020 INJ
MF	Georgi Milanov	(1992-02-19) 19 February 1992	43	2	Unattached	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020
MF	Aleksandar Tonev	(1990-02-03) 3 February 1990	29	5	Unattached	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020
FW	Zdravko Dimitrov	(1998-08-24) 24 August 1998	1	0	Levski Sofia	v.  Finland, 15 November 2020 U21
FW	Kiril Despodov	(1996-11-11) 11 November 1996	15	1	Ludogorets Razgrad	v.  Gibraltar, 11 November 2020 INJ
FW	Ismail Isa	(1989-06-26) 26 June 1989	8	1	Cherno More Varna	v.  Wales, 14 October 2020
FW	Martin Minchev	(2001-04-22) 22 April 2001	4	0	Sparta Prague	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020
FW	Stanislav Ivanov	(1999-04-16) 16 April 1999	0	0	Chicago Fire	v.  Belarus, 26 February 2020 INJ
INJ Player withdrew from the current squad due to injury. COVID Player withdrew from the current squad due to testing positively for COVID-19 or having to self-isolate because of it. U21 Not part of the squad due to U-21 call up. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player had announced retirement from international football. SUS Player is serving a suspension. PRI Player absent due to private circumstances.