Bulgaria national under-21 football team
The Bulgaria national under-21 football team (Bulgarian: Mладежки национален отбор на България по футбол)[1] is considered to be the feeder team for the Bulgaria national football team. This team is for Bulgarian players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23.
| Nickname(s) | Лъвчетата / Lavchetata (The Young Lions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Aleksandar Dimitrov | ||
| Captain | Dominik Yankov | ||
| Most caps | Petar Mihtarski (51) | ||
| Top scorer | Atanas Mihaylov (31) | ||
| Home stadium | Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov | ||
| FIFA code | BUL | ||
| |||
Competition results
Champions Runners-Up Semi-Finals Other Top Results
UEFA U-21 European Championship
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 1972 | Semi-Finals |
| 1974 | Quarter-Finals |
| 1976 | Quarter-Finals |
| 1978 | Semi-Finals |
| 1990 | Quarter-Finals |
UEFA Euro 2025 Qualifier
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 16 | Final tournament | — | 3–1 | 11 Oct '24 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Poland | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 15 | Play-offs | 15 Oct '24 | — | 0–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 12 | 2–3 | 10 Sep '24 | — | 1–1 | 6–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Kosovo | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 9 | 0–3 | 11 Oct '24 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | Estonia (E) | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 19 | −17 | 1 | 10 Sep '24 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 15 Oct '24 | — | 7 Sep '24 | ||
| 6 | Israel (E) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | 4 Sep '24 | 1–2 | 15 Oct '24 | 10 Sep '24 | 10 Oct '24 | — |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated
Recent fixtures
Win Draw Loss
| 25 March 2022 UEFA Euro 2023 qualification | Bulgaria | 0–0 | Netherlands | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| 19:45 (EET) | Report | Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov Attendance: 332 Referee: Sandi Putros (Denmark) |
| 29 March 2022 UEFA Euro 2023 qualification | Wales | 1–1 | Bulgaria | Newport, Wales |
| 17:00 (EET) |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 210 Referee: Pavel Orel (Czech Republic) |
| 4 June 2022 UEFA Euro 2023 qualification | Switzerland | 1–0 | Bulgaria | Lugano, Switzerland |
| 19:00 | Rieder 56' | Report | Stadium: Cornaredo Stadium Attendance: 1,125 Referee: Gustavo Fernandes Correia (Portugal) |
| 11 June 2022 UEFA Euro 2023 qualification | Gibraltar | 1–1 | Bulgaria | Gibraltar |
| 20:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: Victoria Stadium Attendance: 480 Referee: Alessandro Dudic (Switzerland) |
| 23 September 2022 Friendly | Hungary | 1–0 | Bulgaria | Szombathely, Hungary |
| 19:00 |
|
Report | Stadium: Haladás Sportkomplexum |
| 27 September 2022 Friendly | Bulgaria | 1–1 | Serbia | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| 17:00 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov |
| Note: The game was abandoned at half-time due to a thunderstorm. | ||||
| 21 November 2022 Friendly | Slovenia | 0–0 | Bulgaria | Murska Sobota, Slovenia |
| 18:30 | Report | Stadium: Fazanerija City Stadium |
| 25 November 2022 Friendly | Bulgaria | 0–3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria |
| 18:00 | Report | Stadium: Stadion Hristo Botev |
| 25 March 2023 Friendly tournament | Bulgaria | 0–1 | Slovakia | Antalya, Turkey |
| 17:30 (UTC+03:00) | Report |
|
Stadium: Bellis Sports Center |
| 28 March 2023 Friendly tournament | Bulgaria | 0–2 | Finland | Antalya, Turkey |
| 17:30 (UTC+03:00) | Stadium: Bellis Sports Center |
| 15 June 2023 Friendly | Bulgaria | 1–0 | Montenegro | Plovdiv, Bulgaria |
| 17:30 (UTC+03:00) |
|
Stadium: Hristo Botev Stadium |
| 20 June 2023 Friendly | Albania | 3–1 | Bulgaria | Elbasan, Albania |
| 18:30 (UTC+03:00) |
|
Stadium: Elbasan Arena |
| 7 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Estonia | 1–1 | Bulgaria | Tallinn, Estonia |
| 16:30 (EET) |
|
|
Stadium: Kadriorg Stadium |
| 12 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Bulgaria | 1–0 | Israel | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| 18:00 (EET) |
|
Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov |
| 13 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Bulgaria | 2–3 | Germany | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Report |
|
Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov Referee: Nathan Verboomen (Belgium) |
| 17 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Bulgaria | 1–1 | Kosovo | Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov, Sofia |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 358 Referee: Jan Petrik (Czech Republic) |
| 17 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Kosovo | 2–2 | Bulgaria | Zahir Pajaziti Stadium, Podujevo |
|
Report | Attendance: 200 Referee: Patrik Kolarić (Croatia) |
| 21 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Bulgaria | 6–0 | Estonia | Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov, Sofia |
| Report | Attendance: 178 Referee: David Dickinson (Scotland) |
| 26 March 2024 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Poland | 0–1 | Bulgaria | Chorzów, Poland |
|
Stadium: Stadion Śląski Referee: Christian-Petru Ciochirca |
| 10 September 2024 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Bulgaria | v | Poland | Bulgaria |
| 11 October 2024 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Germany | v | Bulgaria | Germany |
| 15 October 2024 UEFA Euro 2025 qualification | Israel | v | Bulgaria | Israel |
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
Last updated: 20 December 2018 |
Manager history
|
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2025 qualification matches against Poland on 26 March 2024 respectively.[2]
Caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Poland.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | GK | Damyan Hristov | 10 November 2002 | 15 | 0 | Ludogorets Razgrad |
| 23 | GK | Plamen Andreev | 15 December 2004 | 5 | 0 | Levski Sofia |
| 1 | GK | Nikola Videnov | 22 March 2002 | 0 | 0 | Spartak Varna |
| 4 | DF | Hristiyan Petrov | 24 June 2002 | 15 | 0 | CSKA Sofia |
| 18 | DF | Atanas Chernev | 25 March 2002 | 13 | 0 | Botev Plovdiv |
| 5 | DF | Veljko Jelenković | 5 June 2003 | 9 | 0 | Slavia Sofia |
| 13 | DF | Simeon Vasilev | 24 October 2005 | 5 | 0 | CSKA 1948 |
| 16 | DF | Rosen Bozhinov | 23 January 2005 | 0 | 0 | CSKA 1948 |
| 2 | DF | Dimitar Papazov | 15 June 2006 | 0 | 0 | Botev Provdiv II |
| 15 | MF | Martin Atanasov | 19 January 2002 | 17 | 0 | Minyor Pernik |
| 8 | MF | Stanislav Shopov | 23 February 2002 | 16 | 2 | CSKA Sofia |
| 3 | MF | Emanuel Mirchev | 9 February 2002 | 16 | 0 | Teutonia Ottensen |
| 6 | MF | Emil Tsenov | 26 April 2002 | 15 | 1 | CSKA 1948 |
| 20 | MF | Kristiyan Stoyanov | 29 April 2003 | 14 | 1 | Slavia Sofia |
| 11 | MF | Marin Petkov | 2 October 2003 | 11 | 2 | Levski Sofia |
| 10 | MF | Nikola Iliev | 6 June 2004 | 7 | 2 | CSKA 1948 |
| 19 | MF | Nikolay Zlatev | 12 December 2004 | 7 | 0 | Cherno More |
| 14 | MF | Valentin Nikolov | 15 October 2003 | 5 | 0 | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| 22 | MF | Chung Nguyen Do | 23 May 2005 | 3 | 0 | Slavia Sofia |
| 7 | FW | Roberto Raychev | 7 May 2005 | 11 | 1 | Slavia Sofia |
| 9 | FW | Georgi Nikolov | 5 July 2002 | 10 | 5 | Hebar Pazardzhik |
| 17 | FW | Martin Sorakov | 23 October 2003 | 10 | 2 | Krumovgrad |
| 21 | FW | Petar Andreev | 2 June 2004 | 6 | 0 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
Recent call ups
The following players have previously been called up to the Bulgaria under-21 squad and remain eligible.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Hristiyan Slavkov | 26 February 2003 | 2 | 0 | Etar Veliko Tarnovo | |
| DF | Martin Stoychev | 17 October 2003 | 2 | 0 | Arda Kardzhali | v. Serbia, 27 September 2022 |
| DF | Efe Ali | 3 January 2003 | 0 | 0 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | |
| DF | Martin Georgiev | 24 September 2005 | 3 | 0 | Barcelona | |
| DF | Kaloyan Kostov | 4 May 2004 | 2 | 0 | Benfica | |
| DF | Rosen Stefanov | 27 November 2002 | 2 | 0 | Cherno More | |
| DF | Todor Pavlov | 31 July 2004 | 1 | 0 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | v. Finland, 27 March 2023 |
| DF | Dzhan Hasan | 4 May 2002 | 1 | 0 | Dunav Ruse | v. Finland, 27 March 2023 |
| DF | Luka Ivanov | 31 December 2003 | 0 | 0 | Lokomotiv Sofia | v. Finland, 27 March 2023 |
| DF | Dimo Krastev | 10 February 2003 | 6 | 0 | Fiorentina | v. Serbia, 27 September 2022 A |
| DF | Lazar Boyanov | 1 April 2003 | 0 | 0 | Marinhense | v. Serbia, 27 September 2022 |
| MF | Bozhidar Penchev | 13 March 2002 | 7 | 0 | Beroe Stara Zagora | |
| MF | Asen Mitkov | 17 February 2005 | 3 | 0 | Levski Sofia | |
| MF | Krasian Kolev | 18 January 2004 | 4 | 0 | Botev Plovdiv | |
| MF | Sewen Emilov | 5 August 2003 | 0 | 0 | Falkenbergs FF | |
| MF | Martin Smolenski | 8 March 2003 | 3 | 0 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | v. Finland, 27 March 2023 |
| MF | Biser Bonev | 4 June 2003 | 0 | 0 | Botev Plovdiv II | v. Serbia, 27 September 2022 |
| FW | Daniel Lyubomirov | 1 January 2004 | 4 | 0 | Alavés | |
| FW | Martin Petkov | 15 August 2002 | 11 | 1 | Septemvri Sofia | |
| FW | Simeon Aleksandrov | 24 September 2003 | 6 | 0 | Septemvri Sofia | |
| FW | Ivan Tasev | 27 April 2002 | 5 | 0 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | |
| FW | Mark-Emilio Papazov | 8 October 2003 | 3 | 0 | Hebar Pazardzhik | |
| FW | Miroslav Marinov | 7 March 2004 | 3 | 0 | Botev Vratsa | v. Finland, 27 March 2023 |
- Notes
- A = Not part of the current squad due to being called up to the senior team.
- INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury.
- COVID = Withdrawn from the current squad due to suffering from COVID-19.
See also
References
- Mladezhki natsionalen otbor na Balgariya po futbol, literally "Bulgaria national youth football team".
- "Състав на България U21 за евроквалификациите срещу Германия и Косово" (in Bulgarian). Български футболен съюз. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
External links
- Official website (in Bulgarian)
- UEFA Under-21 website, complete results archive
- The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, full record of U-21 and U-23 Championships