The Bulgarian national football team drew 2–2 with Cyprus at Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv in their penultimate friendly match before the start of the World Cup qualifiers. Bulgaria twice took the lead through Aleksandar Kolev but was unable to secure the victory. These were Kolev’s first goals for the national team, coming in his 12th appearance.

This was the team’s 15th match under head coach Ilian Iliev, who has 3 wins, 9 draws and 3 losses. Statistically, this was the second draw between the two teams in 16 matches, with Bulgaria having won 13 of the previous matches. In the upcoming friendly match against Greece on June 9 in Crete, defender Kristian Dimitrov will miss out due to injury and will be replaced by Rosen Bozhinov.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: Bulgarian Football Union