The Bulgaria women's national football team (Bulgarian: Български женски национален отбор по футбол) represents Bulgaria in international women's football, and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. The team's major success came in 2008 when they won the Balkan Championship and the Albena Cup in the same year. These major tournament victories brought them up to their all-time highest FIFA world ranking of 33rd.
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Лъвиците (The Lionesses) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Bulgarian Football Union | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Silvia Radoyska | ||
| Captain | Nikoleta Boycheva | ||
| Top scorer | Liliana Kostova (7) | ||
| Home stadium | Various | ||
| FIFA code | BUL | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 98  1 (16 August 2024)[1] | ||
| Highest | 42 (December 2008) | ||
| Lowest | 99 (June 2024) | ||
| First international | |||
 Bulgaria 1–1 Spain  (Sofia, Bulgaria; 11 October 1987) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Estonia 0–5 Bulgaria  (Otopeni, Romania; 18 November 2006) Bulgaria 5–0 Luxembourg  (Ta' Qali, Malta; 5 June 2009) Bulgaria 5–0 Georgia  (Lovech, Bulgaria; 21 November 2009) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 France 14–0 Bulgaria (Le Mans, France; 28 November 2013) | |||
History
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021) |
Team image
editNicknames
editThe Bulgaria women's national football team have been nicknamed as "Лъвиците (The Lionesses)".
Home stadium
editBulgaria plays their home matches on the Lovech Stadium.
Results and fixtures
editThe following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
- Legend
Win Draw Lose Fixture
2023
edit| 22 September 2023 Nations League C | North Macedonia  | 0–1 | Bulgaria | Skopje |
| 15:00 | Report | Stankova  4' |
Stadium: Petar Miloševski Training Centre Attendance: 200 Referee: Miriama Bočková (Slovakia) |
| 27 September Nations League C | Bulgaria | 0–0 |  Kosovo | Plovdiv |
| 17:00 (18:00 EEST) | Report | Stadium: Stadion Lokomotiv Referee: Lovisa Johansson (Sweden) |
| 1 December 2023 Nations League C | Kosovo | 5–1 | Bulgaria | Podujevo |
| 13:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: Zahir Pajaziti Stadium Attendance: 120 Referee: Meliz Özçiğdem (Turkey) |
| 5 December 2023 Nations League C | Bulgaria | 2–2 | North Macedonia | Plovdiv |
| 16:00 (17:00 EET) | Report | Stadium: Stadion Lokomotiv Referee: Alexandra Collin (France) |
2024
edit| 23 February 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League promotion/relegation matches | Bulgaria | 0–4 |  Ukraine | Kardzhali |
| 15:00 (16:00 EET) | Report |
|
Stadium: Arena Arda |
| 27 February 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League promotion/relegation matches | Ukraine | 3–0 (7–0 agg.) | Bulgaria | Antalya, Turkey[a] |
| 14:00 (16:00 TRT) | Report | Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex | ||
| Note: Ukraine won 7–0 on aggregate, and therefore both teams remained in their respective leagues. | ||||
| 5 April 2024 Euro 2025 qualifying League C | Kazakhstan  | 0–1 | Bulgaria | Almaty |
| 13:00 (16:00 UTC+5) | Report |
|
Stadium: Almaty Central Stadium Referee: Meliz Özçiğdem (Turkey) |
| 9 April UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying League C GS | Bulgaria | 2–3 |  Armenia | Sofia |
| 18:00 UTC+3) | Report | Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov Referee: Emilie Torkelsen (Norway) |
| 31 May UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying League C GS | Romania  | 1–0 | Bulgaria | Bucharest |
| 18:00 (19:00 UTC+3) | Vătafu 76' |
Report | Stadium: Stadionul Arcul de Triumf Attendance: 1,709 Referee: Kathrin Huber (Austria) |
| 4 June UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying League C GS | Bulgaria | 0–3 | Romania | Sofia |
| 18:00 (19:00 UTC+3) | Report | Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov Attendance: 176 Referee: Jurgita Mačikunytė (Lithuania) |
| 12 July UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying League C GS | Armenia | 1–3 | Bulgaria | Yerevan, Armenia |
| 19:45 UTC+4) | Report | Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium |
| 16 July UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying League C GS | Bulgaria | 0–0 | Kazakhstan | Sofia |
| 19:00 (20:00 UTC+3) | Report | Stadium: Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov |
Coaching staff
editCurrent coaching staff
edit- As of 28 November 2022
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Silvia Radoyska
|
| Assistant coaches | Velizar Hristov
|
| Trifon Panev
| |
| Goalkeeping coach | Emil Varadinov
|
| Team manager | Doychin Bahov
|
Manager history
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2022) |
| Name | Period | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emil Atanasov
|
18 November 2006 – 25 August 2010 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 52.38% | ||
| Valentin Chakarov
|
24 November 2010 – 19 September 2012 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0% | ||
| Emil Kartselski
|
20 August 2013 – 21 August 2014 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 18.18% | ||
| Silviya Radoyska
|
17 September 2014–present | 29 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 22.73% |
Players
editCurrent squad
edit- The following players were part of the squad ahead of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying match against Armenia and Kazakhstan on the 12 and 16 July 2024, respectively.[3]
Recent call-ups
edit- The following players have been called up to a Bulgaria squad in the past 12 months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Milena Karakoleva | 3 April 2004 | 1 | 0 | Sportika
|
v. Romania, 4 June 2024
|
| DF | Nora Dimitrova (captain) | 26 July 1996 | 14 | 1 | Lokomotiv
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| DF | Silviya Kefalova | 6 June 2001 | 2 | 0 | NSA
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| DF | Ivet Vasileva | 12 July 1998 | 0 | 0 | LP Super Sport
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| DF | Silviya Kefalova | 6 June 2001 | 2 | 0 | NSA
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| DF | Ivet Vasileva | 12 July 1998 | 0 | 0 | LP Super Sport
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| DF | Mariela Nedeva | 12 July 2000 | 4 | 0 | Lokomotiv
|
v. Ukraine, 27 February 2024
|
| DF | Yana Dineva | 8 November 2002 | 9 | 0 | Lokomotiv
|
v. Ukraine, 27 February 2024
|
| MF | Anita Churusinova | 10 May 2004 | NSA Sofia
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
| ||
| MF | Ivana Naydenova | 21 December 2001 | 14 | 3 |  Hellas Verona
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| MF | Zdravka Parapunova | 6 August 2003 | 0 | 0 | Unattached | v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| MF | Veni Sarbinska | 28 December 1995 | Sportika
|
v. North Macedonia, 5 December 2023
| ||
| MF | Eva Atanasova | 5 June 2005 | 1 | 0 | Ludogorets
|
v. Kosovo, 23 September 2023
|
| MF | Nikoleta Boycheva | 20 August 1994 | 19 | 0 | Lokomotiv
|
v. Romania, 4 June 2024
|
| MF | Ivelina Pavlova | 18 July 2003 | 1 | 0 | NSA
|
v. Romania, 4 June 2024
|
| FW | Antonina Shopska | 17 January 2001 | ŽFK Kamenica Sasa
|
v. Romania, 4 June 2024
| ||
| FW | Yana Yordanova | 20 February 2003 |  Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
|
v. Romania, 4 June 2024
| ||
| FW | Dimitra Ivanova | 26 January 2004 | 9 | 0 | Politehnica Timișoara
|
v. Armenia, 9 April 2024
|
| FW | Catherine Karadjov | 19 June 1998 | 1 | 0 | Orvault
|
v. Ukraine, 27 February 2024
|
| FW | Leonora Zheleva | 13 May 1999 | 6 | 0 |  AEL
|
v. Kosovo, 23 September 2023
|
Captains
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021) |
- Radoslava Slavcheva (????–)
Records
edit- As of 23 May 2021
- Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 2021.
Most capped playersedit
|
Top goalscorersedit
|
Competitive record
editFIFA Women's World Cup
edit| FIFA Women's World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
 1991 |
did not qualify | UEFA Euro 1991 | ||||||||||||
 1995
|
UEFA Euro 1995 | |||||||||||||
| 1999
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 12 | ||||||||
| 2003 |
did not enter | did not enter | ||||||||||||
| 2007
| ||||||||||||||
 2011 |
did not qualify | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 25 | |||||||
 2015
|
10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 62 | ||||||||
| 2019 |
did not enter | did not enter | ||||||||||||
  2023 |
did not qualify | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 37 | |||||||
 2027 |
to be determined | to be determined | ||||||||||||
| Total | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 34 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 24 | 136 | |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
UEFA Women's Championship
edit| UEFA Women's Championship record | Qualifying record | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
  1984 |
did not enter | did not enter | ||||||||||||
| 1987
| ||||||||||||||
| 1989 |
did not qualify | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 18 | |||||||
 1991
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 18 | ||||||||
| 1993
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||
| 1995
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | ||||||||
| 1997
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 6 | ||||||||
| 2001 |
did not enter | did not enter | ||||||||||||
| 2005
| ||||||||||||||
 2009 |
did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | |||||||
| 2013
|
10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 54 | ||||||||
 2017 |
did not enter | did not enter | ||||||||||||
| 2022
| ||||||||||||||
 2025 |
to be determined | to be determined | ||||||||||||
| Total | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 41 | 7 | 3 | 31 | 30 | 117 | |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
UEFA Women's Nations League
edit| UEFA Women's Nations League record | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Group | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | P/R | RK | |
| 2023–24 | C | 5 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 40th | ||
| 2025–26 | C | To be determined | ||||||||||
| Total | 18th | |||||||||||
Honours
edit- Champions : 2008
- Champions : 2008
See also
edit- Sport in Bulgaria
- Football in Bulgaria
- Women's football in Bulgaria
- Football in Bulgaria
- Bulgaria men's national football team
Notes
edit- ^ Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[2]
References
edit- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Decisions from today's extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ match rapport
External links
edit- Official website (in Bulgarian)
- FIFA profile