Bulgaria national under-21 football team

Bulgaria U-21
Nickname(s)	Лъвчетата (The Young Lions)
Association	Bulgarian Football Union
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Aleksandar Dimitrov
Captain	Dominik Yankov
Most caps	Petar Mihtarski (51)
Top scorer	Atanas Mihaylov (31)
Home stadium	Stadion Slavia
FIFA code	BUL
First colours	Second colours

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.

Coaching staff

Head coach

Tenure	Head Coach
2000–2001	Dimitar Aleksiev
2002	Ivan Kolev
2003–2006	Petar Miladinov
2006–2007	Aleksandar Stankov
2008–2009	Ivan Kolev
2010–2013	Mihail Madanski
2014–2018	Antoni Zdravkov
2019–2020	Aleksandar Dimitrov
2021–	Aleksandar Dimitrov

On 20 December 2018, BFU appointed Aleksandar Dimitrov as the head coach of the under-21 team.[2]

U21 Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Aleksandar Dimitrov
Assistant Manager	vacant
Goalkeeping Coach	vacant

Source:

Competition results

Champions Runners-Up Semi-Finals Other Top Results

Balkan Youth Championship

Year	Rank
1968	Champions
1970	Champions
1973	Champions

UEFA U-21 European Championship

Year	Rank
1972	Semi-Finals
1974	Quarter-Finals
1976	Quarter-Finals
1978	Semi-Finals
1990	Quarter-Finals

Current squad

Players

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Euro 2023 qualification matches against Netherlands on 25 March 2022 and Wales on 29 March 2022.[3] Names in bold denote players who have been capped for or called up to the senior team.
Caps and goals updated as of 29 March 2022 after the match against Wales.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
12	1GK	Damyan Hristov	(2002-11-10) 10 November 2002	6	0	Ludogorets Razgrad II
1	1GK	Hristiyan Slavkov	(2003-02-26) 26 February 2003	0	0	Botev Plovdiv II

2	2DF	Viktor Popov	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000	18	0	Cherno More
6	2DF	Valentin Antov	(2000-11-09) 9 November 2000	13	0	Monza
13	2DF	Simeon Petrov	(2000-01-12) 12 January 2000	12	1	CSKA 1948
	2DF	Martin Dichev	(2000-08-22) 22 August 2000	8	0	Cherno More
18	2DF	Atanas Chernev	(2002-03-25) 25 March 2002	7	0	Botev Plovdiv
22	2DF	Patrick-Gabriel Galchev	(2001-04-14) 14 April 2001	6	0	Levski Sofia
3	2DF	Yoni Stoyanov	(2001-05-22) 22 May 2001	4	0	Hapoel Kfar Saba
4	2DF	Tihomir Dimitrov	(2000-02-04) 4 February 2000	1	0	Ludogorets Razgrad II

14	3MF	Filip Krastev	(2001-10-15) 15 October 2001	12	1	Levski Sofia
8	3MF	Ilia Gruev	(2000-05-06) 6 May 2000	12	1	Werder Bremen
19	3MF	Mitko Mitkov	(2000-08-28) 28 August 2000	11	1	Litex Lovech
5	3MF	Yoan Baurenski	(2001-10-21) 21 October 2001	10	0	Botev Vratsa
11	3MF	Dimitar Tonev	(2001-10-15) 15 October 2001	6	2	Botev Plovdiv
21	3MF	Marin Petkov	(2003-10-02) 2 October 2003	6	0	Levski Sofia
15	3MF	Martin Atanasov	(2002-01-19) 19 January 2002	4	0	Slavia Sofia
17	3MF	Velislav Vasilev	(2001-03-27) 27 March 2001	2	0	Cherno More
7	3MF	Kristian Dobrev	(2001-04-27) 27 April 2001	2	0	Slavia Sofia
	3MF	Hristo Ivanov	(2000-12-16) 16 December 2000	0	0	Arda

10	4FW	Vladimir Nikolov	(2001-02-07) 7 February 2001	12	6	Admira Wacker
9	4FW	Martin D. Petkov	(2002-08-15) 15 August 2002	8	1	Slavia Sofia
20	4FW	Sylvester Jasper	(2001-09-13) 13 September 2001	4	0	Hibernian
	4FW	Borislav Stankov	(2002-05-05) 5 May 2002	0	0	Real Valladolid

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	Viktor Nikolov	(2001-04-11) 11 April 2001	1	0	Getafe B	v. Moldova, 16 November 2021
GK	Kristian Tomov	(2002-08-17) 17 August 2002	0	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	v. Switzerland, 12 October 2021
GK	Svetoslav Vutsov	(2002-07-09) 9 July 2002	6	0	Slavia Sofia	v. Wales, 7 September 2021 ^A
GK	Damyan Damyanov	(2000-07-29) 29 July 2000	1	0	Lokomotiv Sofia	v. Albania, 8 June 2021

DF	Dimitar Stoyanov	(2001-04-14) 14 April 2001	2	1	Slavia Sofia	v. Netherlands, 12 November 2021 ^INJ
DF	Kolyo Stanev	(2001-10-10) 10 October 2001	3	0	Etar Veliko Tarnovo	v. Switzerland, 12 October 2021
DF	Asen Donchev	(2001-10-22) 22 October 2001	2	0	CSKA Sofia	v. Switzerland, 12 October 2021
DF	Hristiyan Petrov	(2002-06-24) 24 June 2002	7	0	CSKA Sofia	v. Wales, 7 September 2021
DF	Tomislav Papazov	(2001-08-24) 24 August 2001	3	0	Hebar Pazardzhik	v. Albania, 8 June 2021

MF	Stanislav Shopov	(2002-02-23) 23 February 2002	9	1	Heerenveen	v. Moldova, 16 November 2021
MF	Emanuel Mirchev	(2002-02-09) 9 February 2002	5	0	SC Verl	v. Switzerland, 12 October 2021
MF	Dimo Krastev	(2003-02-10) 10 February 2003	4	0	Fiorentina	v. Switzerland, 12 October 2021
MF	Stefan Kamenov	(2001-03-13) 13 March 2001	3	0	Montana	v. Albania, 8 June 2021

FW	Martin Minchev	(2001-04-22) 22 April 2001	14	2	Sparta Prague	v. Moldova, 16 November 2021 ^A
FW	Denislav Angelov	(2001-06-08) 8 June 2001	6	0	Cherno More	v. Moldova, 16 November 2021
FW	Martin P. Petkov	(2001-01-15) 15 January 2001	0	0	Botev Vratsa	v. Switzerland, 12 October 2021
FW	Martin Sorakov	(2003-10-23) 23 October 2003	1	0	Slavia Sofia	v. Wales, 7 September 2021
FW	Dimitar Mitkov	(2000-01-27) 27 January 2000	4	0	Lokomotiv Sofia	v. Albania, 8 June 2021
FW	Preslav Borukov	(2000-04-23) 23 April 2000	2	0	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	v. Russia, 3 June 2021 ^INJ

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.

UEFA Euro 2023 Qualifier

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Switzerland (T)	8	6	1	1	20	5	+15	19	Final tournament	—	2–2	3–0	4 Jun	5–1	4–0
2	Netherlands	7	5	2	0	22	3	+19	17	Play-offs	2–0	—	3–0	3–1	5–0	7 Jun
3	Moldova (Y)	8	3	2	3	6	8	−2	11		8 Jun	3 Jun	—	0–2	1–0	1–0
4	Bulgaria (E)	8	2	3	3	9	9	0	9		0–1	0–0	0–0	—	0–4	5–0
5	Wales (E)	8	2	2	4	13	13	0	8		0–1	11 Jun	0–0	1–1	—	14 Jun
6	Gibraltar (E)	7	0	0	7	0	32	−32	0		0–4	0–7	0–4	11 Jun	0–7	—

Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated; (T) Qualified, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Recent fixtures

Win Draw Loss

24 March 2021 (2021-03-24) Friendly tournament	Ukraine	1–2	Bulgaria	Antalya, Turkey
16:00 (UTC+03:00)	Nazarenko 8'	Report	Yankov 20' F. Krastev 53'	Stadium: Bellis Sports Center

26 March 2021 (2021-03-26) Friendly tournament	Bulgaria	3–1	Kazakhstan	Antalya, Turkey
15:00 (UTC+03:00)	Nikolov 51' Tonev 58', 60'	Report	Sagnayev 81' (pen.)	Stadium: Bellis Sports Center

29 March 2021 (2021-03-29) Friendly tournament	North Macedonia	5–1	Bulgaria	Antalya, Turkey
16:30 (UTC+03:00)	Ilievski 10' Grozdanovski 30' Maksimov 58', 76' Kalkan 79'	Report	Yankov 51'	Stadium: Bellis Sports Center

3 June 2021 (2021-06-03) Friendly	Bulgaria	0–1	Russia	Sofia, Bulgaria
17:30 (UTC+03:00)		Report	Ignatov 12'	Stadium: Stadion Slavia

8 June 2021 (2021-06-08) Friendly	Bulgaria	4–0	Albania	Sofia, Bulgaria
17:30 (UTC+03:00)	Shopov 2' S. Petrov 5' Gruev 12' Nikolov 68' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stadion Slavia

3 September 2021 (2021-09-03) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Moldova	0–2	Bulgaria	Chișinău, Moldova
20:00 (UTC+03:00)		Report	Minchev 52' Mitkov 75'	Stadium: Zimbru Stadium Attendance: 350 Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania)

7 September 2021 (2021-09-07) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Bulgaria	0–4	Wales	Sofia, Bulgaria
18:30 (UTC+03:00)		Report	Vale 27', 50', 73' Sass-Davies 42'	Stadium: Stadion Slavia Attendance: 400 Referee: Visar Kastrati (Kosovo)

8 October 2021 (2021-10-08) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Bulgaria	5–0	Gibraltar	Sofia, Bulgaria
17:30 (18:30 EEST)	Nikolov 6', 25' (pen.), 26' M. D. Petkov 35' Stoyanov 63'	Report		Stadium: Stadion Slavia Attendance: 45 Referee: Aleksei Matyunin (Russia)

12 October 2021 (2021-10-12) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Bulgaria	0–1	Switzerland	Sofia, Bulgaria
17:00 (18:00 EEST)		Report	Imeri 45'	Stadium: Stadion Slavia Attendance: 93 Referee: Lazar Lukić (Serbia)

12 November 2021 (2021-11-12) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Netherlands	3–1	Bulgaria	Almere, Netherlands
19:45 (EET)	Maatsen 38' Zirkzee 46', 90+1' (pen.)	Report	Minchev 19'	Stadium: Yanmar Stadion Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Germany)

16 November 2021 (2021-11-16) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Bulgaria	0–0	Moldova	Sofia, Bulgaria
18:30 (EET)		Report		Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov Attendance: 42 Referee: Petri Viljanen (Finland)

25 March 2022 (2022-03-25) 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 (2022-03-29) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Wales	1–1	Bulgaria	Newport, Wales
17:00 (EET)	Pearson 63'	Report	Nikolov 61'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Referee: Pavel Orel (Czech Republic)

4 June 2022 (2022-06-04) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Switzerland	v	Bulgaria
		Report

11 June 2022 (2022-06-11) UEFA Euro 2023 qualification	Gibraltar	v	Bulgaria
		Report

References

Mladezhki natsionalen otbor na Balgariya po futbol, literally "Bulgaria national youth football team".
"Изпълнителният комитет на БФС прие бюджета и спортния календар за 2019 г." (in Bulgarian). bfunion.bg. 20 December 2018.
"Състав на България U21 за европейските квалификации срещу Нидерландия и Уелс" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 15 March 2022.

External links

UEFA Under-21 website, complete results archive
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, full record of U-21 and U-23 Championships

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Mladezhki natsionalen otbor na Balgariya po futbol, literally "Bulgaria national youth football team".

[2] "Изпълнителният комитет на БФС прие бюджета и спортния календар за 2019 г." (in Bulgarian). bfunion.bg. 20 December 2018.

[3] "Състав на България U21 за европейските квалификации срещу Нидерландия и Уелс" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 15 March 2022.

Football in Bulgaria
League competitions	First League Second League Third League (4 divisions) Regional Groups Bulgarian Women's League
Cup competitions	Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Supercup Cup of AFL Bulgarian Women's Cup
Defunct competitions	State Championship (1924–1936, 1941–1945) Tsar's Cup (1924–44) National Football Division (1937–1940) Republic Championship (1945–1948) Cup of the Soviet Army (1983–90) BFU's Cup (1990–91) PFL's Cup (1994–97) Doubles Group (2008–2010) A Group (1948-2016)
National teams	Men Women Olympic team (U-23) Under-21 Under-19 Under-18 Under-17
Regional Amateur Football Groups	Blagoevgrad Burgas Dobrich Gabrovo Haskovo Kardzhali Kyustendil Lovech Montana Pazardzhik Pernik Pleven Plovdiv Razgrad Ruse Shumen Silistra Sliven Smolyan Sofia City Sofia (province) Stara Zagora Targovishte Varna Veliko Tarnovo Vidin Vratsa Yambol
Lists	Clubs Stadiums Foreign players National team results Clubs in European competitions
Awards	Footballers' Footballer of the Year
BFU PFL