Although he has a contract for more than a year at the head of the national team of Bulgaria, the selector of our representative team Ilian Iliev talked about leaving.
He did it after the ignominious 0:5 defeat by Northern Ireland in a match of Division C Group 3 of the Nations League. The disastrous defeat is the first for the coach since he took over the national selection.
And the victory of the British is one of the greatest in their entire history. Our homeland ranked next to “colossi” such as San Marino, the Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Wales. All these nations plus ours have conceded at least 4 goals to the Northern Irish.
Northern Ireland had not scored 3 goals in one half since 2016. The last time this happened was in 2008 against Georgia.
The last time Bulgaria fell 0:5 was 2 decades ago, when we were defeated by Sweden at Euro 2004 – our last for now participation in a major forum.
“The next 2 matches will decide my fate,” explained Iliev, referring to the remaining Nations League matches against Luxembourg and Belarus. First we are guests of the one-time football midget on November 15. 3 days later we host Belarus.
Already at the renewal of Iliev’s contract with the new head of BFS Georgi Ivanov – Gonzo, the coach was given the task of winning the group. In view of the development at the moment, however, the chances of this are illusory. And it is for this reason that Iliev said that the matches with Luxembourg and Belarus are decisive for his future.
However, Ivanov himself has no intention of parting with Ilian Iliev, who managed to breathe some life into the national team. The president of our football union is aware that miracles cannot happen with the available players. And it’s not the coach’s fault. Therefore, unless Iliev himself wants to leave, 99% he will continue to lead Bulgaria in the world qualifiers next year.
For the matches with Luxembourg and Belarus, the coach is expected to make a bunch of changes. After the crash in Belfast, Iliev stated that the fault for the heavy loss was entirely his.
“There must be a reaction as a team. I am to blame for the fact that we failed to respond to the hosts’ aggression,” Iliev said at his press conference, referring to the fact that he may not have selected the right players.
Thus, it is most likely that for the last 2 matches of the League of Nations, the new names on the coach’s list will be 4-5. Andrian Kraev will certainly receive a call-up, who will be taken as a substitute for the seriously injured Ilia Gruev – the conductor in the center of the field.
“Everything that happened so far was erased by this loss,” Iliev said, referring to his nine games without a loss at the head of our representative team. “No, it’s not a landing. It’s hard for me to find the right word”, added the native specialist.