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 | ||
Home stadium | Various | ||
FIFA code | BUL | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 95 5 (15 March 2024)[1] | ||
Highest | 42 (December 2008) | ||
Lowest | 95 (March 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) |
The Bulgaria women's national football team have been nicknamed as "Лъвиците (The Lionesses)".
Bulgaria plays their home matches on the Lovech Stadium.
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Lose Fixture
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) |
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) |
Role | Name |
---|---|
Head coach | Silvia Radoyska |
Assistant coaches | Velizar Hristov |
Trifon Panev | |
Goalkeeping coach | Emil Varadinov |
Team manager | Doychin Bahov |
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | GK | Roksana Shahanska | 23 April 1992 | 29 | 0 | Lokomotiv |
23 | GK | Milena Karakoleva | 3 April 2004 | 1 | 0 | Sportika |
5 | DF | Nora Dimitrova (captain) | 26 July 1996 | 14 | 1 | Lokomotiv |
6 | DF | Silviya Kefalova | 6 June 2001 | 2 | 0 | NSA |
11 | DF | Kristiana Karaivanova | 11 July 2004 | 6 | 0 | Spezia |
3 | DF | Yanitsa Ivanova | 5 January 2001 | 15 | 0 | Lokomotiv |
18 | DF | Zhasmina Atanasova | 25 June 1996 | 6 | 0 | Lokomotiv |
DF | Ivet Vasileva | 12 July 1998 | 0 | 0 | LP Super Sport | |
2 | MF | Anita Churusinova | ||||
2 | MF | Nikoleta Boycheva | 20 August 1994 | 19 | 0 | Lokomotiv |
19 | MF | Yoana Stankova | 20 August 2005 | 12 | 1 | Sassuolo U19 |
9 | MF | Lora Petrova | 12 October 1998 | 25 | 1 | Res Roma |
22 | MF | Ivana Naydenova | 21 December 2001 | 14 | 3 | Res Roma |
MF | Ivelina Pavlova | 18 July 2003 | 1 | 0 | NSA | |
16 | MF | Zdravka Parapunova | 6 August 2003 | 0 | 0 | SPG Lustenau/Dornbirn |
8 | MF | Leonora Zheleva | 13 May 1999 | 8 | 1 | AEL |
17 | FW | Simona Petkova | 3 September 1993 | 13 | 0 | Aarau |
7 | FW | Evdokiya Popadinova | 26 October 1996 | 8 | 3 | Lazio |
8 | FW | Polina Rusina | NSA | |||
8 | MF | Victoria Yavorova | ||||
14 | FW | Dimitra Ivanova | 26 January 2004 | 9 | 0 | Politehnica Timișoara |
15 | FW | Nadezhda Ivanova | 17 December 2004 | 0 | 0 | SC Sand |
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Viktoria Dimova | 8 January 2002 | 0 | 0 | NSA | 2023 Turkish Women's Cup |
GK | Victoria Ivanova | 25 January 2001 | 0 | 0 | Sevlievo Ladies | 2023 Turkish Women's Cup |
GK | Martina Ilieva | 8 February 2007 | 0 | 0 | Ludogorets | v. Ukraine, 27 February 2024 |
DF | Gergana Iliycheva | 24 February 2002 | 2 | 0 | Chita di Matera | 2023 Turkish Women's Cup |
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 | Dessi Dupuy | 10 June 1993 | 3 | 0 | Växjö DFF | 2023 Turkish Women's Cup |
MF | Eva Atanasova | 5 June 2005 | 1 | 0 | Ludogorets | v. Kosovo, 23 September 2023 |
MF | Eva Atanasova | 5 June 2005 | 1 | 0 | Ludogorets | v. Kosovo , 23 September 2023 |
MF | Preslava Yordanova | NSA | v. North Macedonia , 5 December 2023 | |||
MF | Veni Donna Srpbinska | Sportika | v. North Macedonia , 5 December 2023 | |||
FW | Polina Rasina | 12 March 1999 | 9 | 0 | NSA | 2023 Turkish Women's Cup |
FW | Bilyana Pencheva | 23 May 1997 | 3 | 0 | Lokomotiv | 2023 Turkish Women's Cup |
FW | Mirela Moeva | 29 September 2000 | 0 | 0 | Etar VT | 2023 Turkish Women's Cup |
FW | Leonora Zheleva | 13 May 1999 | 6 | 0 | AEL | v. Kosovo, 23 September 2023 |
FW | Viky Adrianova | 12 May 2003 | 2 | 0 | Jacksonville State University | v. North Macedonia , 5 December 2023 |
FW | Aleksandra Sergeeva | 3 November 2005 | 2 | 0 | VfL Wolfsburg II | v. Ukraine, 27 February 2024 |
FW | Aleksandra Yaneva | 24 February 2001 | 2 | 2 | AEL | v. Ukraine, 27 February 2024 |
FW | Catherine Karadjov | 19 June 1998 | 1 | 0 | Orvault | v. Ukraine, 27 February 2024 |
Most capped players edit
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Top goalscorers edit
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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 |
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 |