Bulgaria national under-21 football team
| Nickname(s) | Лъвчетата / Lavchetata (The Young Lions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Todor Yanchev | ||
| Captain | Nikola Iliev | ||
| Most caps | Petar Mihtarski (51) | ||
| Top scorer | Atanas Mihaylov (31) | ||
| Home stadium | Various | ||
| FIFA code | BUL | ||
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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.
Competition results
Champions Runners-Up Semi-Finals Other Top Results
Balkan Youth Championship
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
 1968 |
Champions |
 1970 |
Champions |
.svg.png){kind=small} 1973 |
Champions |
UEFA U-21 European Championship
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
 1972 |
Semi-Finals |
| 1974 |
Quarter-Finals |
| 1976 |
Quarter-Finals |
| 1978 |
Semi-Finals |
| 1990 |
Quarter-Finals |
UEFA Euro 2027 Qualifier
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | .svg.png){kind=small}
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal
|
7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | +28 | 19 | Final tournament | — | 6 Oct | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 30 Sep | |
| 2 | Czech Republic
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 14 | Final tournament or Play-offs | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 30 Sep | 5–0 | 5–0 | |
| 3 | Scotland
|
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 11 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 30 Sep | 12–0 | ||
| 4 | Bulgaria
|
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 11 | 25 Sep | 2–1 | 6 Oct | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 5 | Azerbaijan
|
7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 18 | −13 | 6 | 0–4 | 25 Sep | 3–3 | 1–1 | — | 6 Oct | ||
| 6 | Gibraltar (E)
|
8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 37 | −36 | 0 | 0–11 | 1–2 | 25 Sep | 0–1 | 0–1 | — |
Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated
Recent fixtures
Win Draw Loss
| 15 November 2024 Friendly | Bulgaria | 1–0 |  Turkey | Bistritsa, Bulgaria |
| 17:00 EET |
|
Report | Stadium: Bistritsa Referee: Georgi Ginchev (Bulgaria) |
| 19 November 2024 Friendly | Bosnia  | 1–0 | Bulgaria | Sarajevo, Bosnia |
| 17:00 EET |
|
Report | Stadium: Grbavica Attendance: 400 Referee: Nihad Ljajic (Bosnia) |
| 20 March 2025 Friendly | Cyprus  | 0–0 | Bulgaria | Larnaca, Cyprus |
| 17:00 EET | Report | Stadium: Antonis Papadopoulos |
| 25 March 2025 Friendly | Bulgaria | 1–1 | Greece | Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria |
| 18:00 EET |
|
Report |
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Stadium: Hristo Botev |
| 31 May 2025 Friendly | Serbia  | 1–2 | Bulgaria | Leskovac, Serbia |
| 19:00 EEST |
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Report |
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Stadium: Dubočica |
| 5 June 2025 Friendly | Bulgaria | 0–3 |  Israel | Pazardzhik, Bulgaria |
| 19:00 EEST | Report |
|
Stadium: Georgi Benkovski |
| 5 September 2025 2027 UEFA EC Q | Bulgaria | 3–0 | Gibraltar | Pazardzhik, Bulgaria |
| 19:30 EEST |
|
Report | Stadium: Georgi Benkovski Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Artem Gasparyan (Armenia) |
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
Last updated: 20 December 2018 |
Manager history
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Players
Current squad
Players born in or after 2004 are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group B matches against Scotland on 18 November 2025.
Caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Scotland.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Plamen Andreev | 15 December 2004 | 11 | 0 |  Lech Poznań
|
| 12 | GK | Aleksandar Andreev | 25 March 2006 | 0 | 0 |  Girona B
|
| 2 | DF | Ivaylo Videv | 17 January 2006 | 1 | 0 | Botev Plovdiv
|
| 3 | DF | Simeon Vasilev | 24 October 2005 | 5 | 0 | Septemvri Sofia
|
| 4 | DF | Todor Pavlov | 31 July 2004 | 5 | 0 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv
|
| 5 | DF | Mihail Polendakov | 5 June 2007 | 9 | 0 |  Sheffield United
|
| 14 | DF | Teodor Ivanov | 13 March 2004 | 10 | 0 | CSKA Sofia
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| 15 | DF | Dimitar Papazov | 15 July 2006 | 12 | 0 |  Bologna
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| 6 | MF | Ivan Pankov | 12 November 2005 | 0 | 0 | Krasava Ypsonas
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| 8 | MF | Antoan Stoyanov | 17 January 2005 | 9 | 0 | Botev Vratsa
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| 10 | MF | Nikola Iliev | 6 June 2004 | 20 | 8 | Botev Plovdiv
|
| 16 | MF | Tsvetoslav Marinov | 4 August 2005 | 5 | 0 | Spartak Varna
|
| 20 | MF | Damyan Yordanov | 30 May 2005 | 2 | 0 | Spartak Varna
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| 21 | MF | Petko Panayotov | 20 July 2005 | 7 | 1 | CSKA Sofia
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| 22 | MF | Asen Mitkov | 17 February 2005 | 12 | 1 | Levski Sofia
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| 7 | FW | Roberto Raychev | 7 May 2005 | 23 | 1 | Slavia Sofia
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| 9 | FW | Borislav Rupanov | 30 November 2004 | 13 | 2 | Górnik Zabrze
|
| 17 | FW | Boris Dimitrov | 29 March 2004 | 9 | 1 | Montana
|
| 18 | FW | Kristiyan Balov | 26 July 2006 | 7 | 0 | Slavia Sofia
|
| 19 | FW | Nikolay Zlatev | 12 December 2004 | 18 | 0 | Cherno More
|
Recent call ups
The following players have previously been called up to the Bulgaria under-21 squad in the last 12 months and remain eligible for selection.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Velizar Iliev | 20 July 2005 | 2 | 0 | Audace Cerignola
|
v. Czech Republic, 14 October 2025
|
| GK | Aleks Bozhev | 19 July 2005 | 5 | 0 | Slavia Prague B
|
v. Azerbaijan, 9 September 2025
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| DF | Martin Georgiev | 24 September 2005 | 15 | 0 | AEK Athens
|
v. Czech Republic, 14 October 2025
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| DF | Anton Ivanov | 10 November 2004 | 0 | 0 | Dobrudzha Dobrich
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v. Czech Republic, 14 October 2025
|
| DF | Viktorio Valkov | 26 May 2006 | 0 | 0 | Beroe
|
v. Czech Republic, 14 October 2025
|
| DF | Zahari Atanasov | 31 January 2005 | 0 | 0 | Septemvri Sofia
|
v. Azerbaijan, 9 September 2025
|
| DF | Simeon Shishkov | 18 May 2006 | 0 | 0 | Ludogorets Razgrad
|
v. Azerbaijan, 9 September 2025
|
| DF | Gabriel Zlatanov | 24 March 2005 | 3 | 0 | Botev Plovdiv
|
v. Israel, 5 June 2025
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| DF | Kaloyan Kostov | 4 May 2004 | 6 | 0 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv
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v. Israel, 5 June 2025
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| MF | Petar Andreev | 2 June 2004 | 6 | 0 | Montana
|
v. Azerbaijan, 9 September 2025
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| MF | Georgi Chorbadzhiyski | 28 August 2004 | 3 | 0 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv
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v. Israel, 5 June 2025
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| MF | Marto Boychev | 15 March 2008 | 4 | 0 | CSKA 1948
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v. Israel, 5 June 2025
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| FW | Georgi Lazarov | 5 October 2004 | 2 | 2 | Cherno More
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v. Czech Republic, 14 October 2025
|
| FW | Yoan Bornosuzov | 9 January 2004 | 2 | 0 | Botev Vratsa
|
v. Israel, 5 June 2025
|
| FW | Adrian Raychev | 19 April 2006 | 2 | 0 | Frosinone
|
v. Israel, 5 June 2025
|
| FW | Preslav Bachev | 14 March 2006 | 1 | 0 | Dunav Ruse
|
v. Greece, 25 March 2025
|
See also
- Bulgaria national football team
- Bulgaria national under-17 football team
- Bulgaria national under-19 football team
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship
References
- ^ Mladezhki natsionalen otbor na Balgariya po futbol, literally "Bulgaria national youth football team".
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
| League competitions |
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| Cup competitions |
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| Defunct competitions |
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| National teams |
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| Regional Amateur Football Groups |
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| Lists |
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| Awards |
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