The Bulgarian national team suffered a heavy loss against Northern Ireland in the UEFA Nations League. The Bulgarians lost 5:0 against the hosts after a hat trick by Isaac Price, a goal by Josh Magennis and an own goal by goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov.
The Bulgarian team had a chance for a goal at the end of the first half, but captain Kiril Despodov failed to score a penalty.
This has been the heaviest loss for the Bulgarians since 2019, when the team lost 6:0 against England. After the loss, Northern Ireland tops Group C/3 with 7 points, followed by Belarus with 6, Bulgaria with 5 and Luxembourg with 2.
The coach of the Bulgarian team, Ilian Iliev, took responsibility for the loss, saying that the mistakes of the players were his mistakes and the matches against Luxembourg and Belarus will show whether he would stay in the position. Kiril Despodov called the loss "shameful" and expressed hope that it would not kill the confidence of his team-mates.