EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS - 2019/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski - Monday 10 June 2019 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Kosovo Group A - Matchday -9 Last updated 02/02/2021 16:12CET CMS error: Requested URL "/insideuefa/library/promo/presskits/european-qualifiers/_sponsorqualifiers.html" not found.

Previous meetings 2 Squad list 3 Head coach 5 Match officials 6 Match-by-match lineups 7 Team facts 9 Legend 11

1 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia

Previous meetings Head to Head 2020 UEFA European Championship Stage Date Match Result Venue Goalscorers reached Zeneli 61; Bozhikov 25/03/2019 QR (GS) Kosovo - Bulgaria 1-1 Pristina 39

Final Qualifying Total tournament

Home Away Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA EURO Bulgaria - - - - 1 0 1 0 - - - - 1 0 1 0 1 1 Kosovo 1 0 1 0 ------1 0 1 0 1 1 FIFA* Bulgaria ------Kosovo ------Friendlies Bulgaria ------Kosovo ------Total Bulgaria - - - - 1 0 1 0 - - - - 1 0 1 0 1 1 Kosovo 1 0 1 0 ------1 0 1 0 1 1 * FIFA World Cup/FIFA Confederations Cup

2 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia Squad list

Bulgaria Current season Qual. FT No. Player DoB Age Club D Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers - Hristo Ivanov 06/04/1982 37 Etar - 0 0 0 0 - 28/06/1988 30 Levski - 3 0 0 0 - Plamen Iliev 30/11/1991 27 Ludogorets - 0 0 0 0 Defenders Slovan - Vasil Bozhikov 02/06/1988 31 - 3 1 0 0 Bratislava Cherno - Viktor Genev 27/10/1988 30 - 0 0 0 0 More - Strahil Popov 31/08/1990 28 Kasımpaşa - 3 0 0 0 - Ivan Goranov 10/06/1992 27 Levski - 0 0 0 0 - 30/04/1993 26 Ludogorets - 2 0 0 0 Botev - Kristian Dimitrov 27/02/1997 22 - 1 0 0 0 Plovdiv - Krum Stoyanov 01/08/1991 27 Etar - 0 0 0 0 Midfielders Cherno - Georgi Iliev 05/09/1981 37 - 0 0 0 0 More - Ivelin Popov 26/10/1987 31 Rostov * 3 0 0 0 - Georgi Sarmov 07/09/1985 33 Etar - 1 0 0 0 - Galin Ivanov 15/04/1988 31 Haladás - 1 0 0 0 Botev - Todor Nedelev 07/02/1993 26 - 3 1 0 0 Plovdiv CSKA- - Kristiyan Malinov 30/03/1994 25 - 2 0 0 0 Sofia Arsenal - Georgi Kostadinov 07/09/1990 28 - 2 0 0 0 Tula Slavia - Yanis Karabelyov 23/01/1996 23 - 1 0 0 0 Sofia Forwards - Ismail Isa 26/06/1989 29 Dunav - 1 1 0 0 - 11/11/1996 22 Cagliari - 1 0 0 0 Slavia - Tsvetelin Chunchukov 26/12/1994 24 - 1 0 0 0 Sofia - Stanislav Ivanov 16/04/1999 20 Levski - 0 0 0 0 Cherno - Martin Minchev 22/04/2001 18 - 3 0 0 0 More Coach - Krasimir Balakov 29/03/1966 53 - 1 0 0 0

3 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia

Kosovo Current season Qual. FT No. Player DoB Age Club D Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers - Samir Ujkani 05/07/1988 30 Rizespor - 0 0 0 0 - Visar Bekaj 24/05/1997 22 Prishtina - 0 0 0 0 - Arijanet Muric 07/11/1998 20 Man. City - 2 0 0 0 Defenders Dinamo - Amir Rrahmani 24/02/1994 25 - 2 0 0 0 - Mirlind Kryeziu 26/01/1997 22 Zürich - 0 0 0 0 - Fidan Aliti 03/10/1993 25 Kalmar - 2 0 0 0 - Mergim Vojvoda 01/02/1995 24 Mouscron - 2 0 0 0 - Florent Hadergjonaj 31/07/1994 24 Huddersfield - 0 0 0 0 - Leart Paqarada 08/10/1994 24 Sandhausen - 2 0 0 0 Midfielders - Bersant Celina 09/09/1996 22 Swansea - 2 0 0 0 - Milot Rashica 28/06/1996 22 Bremen - 2 1 0 0 - Benjamin Kololli 15/05/1992 27 Zürich - 2 0 0 0 - Vedat Muriqi 24/04/1994 25 Rizespor - 2 0 0 0 - Besar Halimi 12/12/1994 24 Brøndby - 2 0 0 0 Eskilstuna - Anel Rashkaj 19/08/1989 29 - 0 0 0 0 City - Florent Hasani 30/03/1997 22 Diósgyőr - 0 0 0 0 - Idriz Voca 15/05/1997 22 Luzern - 1 0 0 0 - Edon Zhegrova 31/03/1999 20 Basel - 2 0 0 0 Forwards Sheff. - Atdhe Nuhiu 29/07/1989 29 - 0 0 0 0 Wednesday - Elbasan Rashani 09/05/1993 26 Odd - 1 0 0 0 - Shkelqim Demhasaj 19/04/1996 23 Luzern - 0 0 0 0 Coach - Bernard Challandes 26/07/1951 67 - 2 0 0 0

4 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia Head coach Krassimir Balakov Date of birth: 29 March 1966 Nationality: Bulgarian Playing career: Etar Veliko Turnovo, Sporting CP, Stuttgart Coaching career: Grasshopper-Club, St Gallen, Chernomorets , Hajduk Split, Kaiserslautern, Litex Lovech, Etar Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria • Made his name in the late 1980s as a midfielder with hometown side Etar, who won the Bulgarian title in 1990/91, but Balakov had already departed for Portuguese giants Sporting CP during the winter break. • Under Sir Bobby Robson Balakov developed into a fine playmaker, and helped Sporting to win the 1995 Portuguese Cup; he moved to Stuttgart that summer, and the club won the German Cup in 1997 before reaching the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup a year later. • Balakov was a key member of the Bulgaria side that reached the semi-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup – still regarded as the nation's biggest footballing achievement – and was named in the official Team of the Tournament. Bulgarian Player of the Year in 1995 and 1997, he scored 16 goals in 92 internationals between 1988 and 2003, captaining the side in the last three years. • Hung up his boots in 2003 and moved into coaching in , leading Zurich-based Grasshoppers and then St Gallen. He was the first Bulgarian to coach in the when Kaiserslautern hired him in March 2012. • Ended a 16-month spell back at Etar to become Bulgaria coach on 14 May 2019, succeeding his former international team-mate Petar Hubchev. Bernard Challandes Date of birth: 28 July 1951 Nationality: Swiss Playing career: Le Locle (twice), Urania Genève Sport, Saint-Imier Coaching career: Saint-Imier, Le Locle, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Yverdon-Sport, Young Boys (twice), Servette, Switzerland (youth), Switzerland Under-21, Zürich, Sion, Neuchâtel Xamax, Thun, Armenia, Kosovo • Bernard Challandes has quietly carved out an impressive coaching CV since his career started in earnest when he took over at Yverdon in 1987. He stayed in the post for seven seasons, winning four lower-league titles, before moving to Young Boys. • His stay in Berne proved nowhere near as lengthy or successful, however, Challandes departing in 1995 with the club finishing bottom of the first phase of the 12-team Swiss top flight after collecting just 17 points. A subsequent spell at Servette proved short-lived, and there followed a lengthy spell out of the limelight , during which he coached Switzerland’s Under-17 and Under-18 teams. • The Le Locle native took over the Switzerland Under-21 side in 2001. The highlight of his six years in charge came in 2002, when a team including Alexander Frei, Ludovic Magnin and Daniel Gygax reached the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals on home soil. • The lure of club football proved too strong for Challandes, however, and in 2007 he took charge of Zürich, leading them to the UEFA Cup round of 32 in his first season. The club's third league title in four years followed in 2009, the Swiss side securing UEFA Champions League group stage football for the first time at the start of 2009/10. • After leaving FCZ in 2010, Challandes took charge of Sion – with whom he won the in 2011 – Neuchâtel Xamax, Thun and Young Boys, committing to his first job outside Switzerland in February 2014, at the age of 62, when he was announced as the new coach of Armenia. Stepped down the following year midway through UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying, going on to work as a scout at Basel before returning to coaching with Kosovo in March 2018. Made an immediate impact, winning promotion in the UEFA Nations League later that year.

5 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia Match officials

Referee Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (DEN) Assistant referees Dennis W. Rasmussen (DEN) , Victor Skytte (DEN) Fourth official Michael Tykgaard (DEN) UEFA Delegate Oleg Harlamov (EST) UEFA Referee observer Joeri Van De Velde (BEL)

Referee UEFA EURO Name Date of birth UEFA matches matches Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen 24/05/1983 0 43

UEFA European Championship matches featuring the two countries involved in this match No such matches refereed Other matches involving teams from either of the two countries involved in this match Stage Date Competition Home Away Result Venue reached 25/09/2014 RCUP IR FA of Vojvodina South-West Bulgaria 3-0 Stara Pazova 27/09/2014 RCUP IR South Moravia South-West Bulgaria 2-1 Jakovo 19/07/2017 UCL 2QR PFC Ludogorets 1945 FK Žalgiris Vilnius 4-1 Razgrad

6 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia Match-by-match lineups Bulgaria

Final tournament - Qualifying round Group A Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts England 8 7 0 1 37 6 21 Czech Republic 8 5 0 3 13 11 15 Kosovo 8 3 2 3 13 16 11 Bulgaria 8 1 3 4 6 17 6 Montenegro 8 0 3 5 3 22 3

(22/03/2019) Bulgaria 1-1 Montenegro Goals: 0-1 Mugoša 50, 1-1 Nedelev 82 (P) Bulgaria: Mihaylov, Popov, Zanev, Bodurov, Kostadinov, Nedelev, Delev (82 Minchev), Popov, Bozhikov, Ivanov (51 Kostov), Chochev (69 Slavchev) (25/03/2019) Kosovo 1-1 Bulgaria Goals: 0-1 Bozhikov 39, 1-1 Zeneli 61 Bulgaria: Mihaylov, Popov, Bodurov, Slavchev, Kostadinov (80 Antov), Nedelev, Delev (68 Zanev), Popov, Nedyalkov, Bozhikov, Malinov (76 Minchev) (07/06/2019) Czech Republic 2-1 Bulgaria Goals: 0-1 Isa 3, 1-1 Schick 19, 2-1 Schick 50 Bulgaria: Mihaylov, Popov, Dimitrov, Sarmov, Nedelev (82 Chunchukov), Popov, Nedyalkov, Bozhikov, Malinov (64 Karabelyov), Isa, Minchev (46 Despodov) (10/06/2019) Bulgaria-Kosovo (07/09/2019) England-Bulgaria (11/10/2019) Montenegro-Bulgaria (14/10/2019) Bulgaria-England (17/11/2019) Bulgaria-Czech Republic Kosovo

Final tournament - Qualifying round Group A Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts England 8 7 0 1 37 6 21 Czech Republic 8 5 0 3 13 11 15 Kosovo 8 3 2 3 13 16 11 Bulgaria 8 1 3 4 6 17 6 Montenegro 8 0 3 5 3 22 3

7 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia (25/03/2019) Kosovo 1-1 Bulgaria Goals: 0-1 Bozhikov 39, 1-1 Zeneli 61 Kosovo: Muric, Aliti, Shala (59 Zhegrova), Kryeziu, Rashica, Celina (58 Halimi), Zeneli, Rrahmani, Vojvoda, Kololli (78 Paqarada), Muriqi (07/06/2019) Montenegro 1-1 Kosovo Goals: 0-1 Rashica 24, 1-1 Mugoša 69 Kosovo: Muric, Aliti, Voca, Rashica, Halimi, Celina (78 Rashani), Zeneli (39 Zhegrova), Rrahmani, Vojvoda, Muriqi, Paqarada (69 Kololli) (10/06/2019) Bulgaria-Kosovo (07/09/2019) Kosovo-Czech Republic (10/09/2019) England-Kosovo (14/10/2019) Kosovo-Montenegro (14/11/2019) Czech Republic-Kosovo (17/11/2019) Kosovo-England

8 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia Team facts

UEFA European Championship records: Bulgaria History 2016 – did not qualify 2012 – did not qualify 2008 – did not qualify 2004 – group stage 2000 – did not qualify 1996 – group stage 1992 – did not qualify 1988 – did not qualify 1984 – did not qualify 1980 – did not qualify 1976 – did not qualify 1972 – did not qualify 1968 – quarter-finals 1964 – did not qualify 1960 – did not qualify Final tournament win 1-0: Bulgaria v , 13/06/96 Final tournament defeat 5-0: Sweden v Bulgaria, 14/06/04 Qualifying win 5-0: Bulgaria v Malta, 11/06/75 Qualifying defeat 4-0: England v Bulgaria, 03/09/10 Final tournament appearances 4: 3: 15 players Final tournament goals 3: 1: Overall appearances 35: 28: Borislav Mihaylov 27: Martin Petrov 27: Hristo Stoichkov 26: Nasko Sirakov Overall goals 15: Hristo Stoichkov 11: 9: 8: Martin Petrov 8: Nasko Sirakov

UEFA European Championship records: Kosovo History 2016 – did not participate Qualifying win N/A Qualifying loss N/A Overall appearances N/A

9 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia

Overall goals N/A

10 Bulgaria - Kosovo Monday 10 June 2019 - 20.45CET (21.45 local time) Match press kit Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia Legend

:: Previous meetings

Goals for/against: Goal totals include the outcome of disciplinary decisions (e.g. match forfeits when a 3-0 result is determined). Goals totals do not include goals scored during a penalty shoot-out after a tie ended in a draw

:: Squad list

Qual.: Total European Qualifiers appearances/goals for UEFA EURO 2020 only. FT: Total UEFA EURO 2020 appearances/goals in final tournament only. Overall: Total international appearances/goals. DoB: Date of birth Age: Based on the date press kit was last updated D: Disciplinary (*: misses next match if booked, S: suspended)

:: Team facts

EURO finals: The UEFA European Championship was a four-team event in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 (when the preliminary round and quarter-finals were considered part of qualifying).

From 1980 it was expanded to an eight-team finals and remained in that format in 1984, 1988 and 1992 until 1996, when the 16-team format was adopted. UEFA EURO 2016 was the first tournament to be played as a 24-team finals.

Records of inactive countries A number of UEFA associations have been affected by dissolution or splits of member associations. For statistical purposes, the records of these inactive countries have been allocated elsewhere: therefore, all Soviet Union matches are awarded to ; all West Germany – but not East Germany – matches are awarded to Germany; all Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro matches are awarded to Serbia; all Czechoslovakia matches are allocated to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Abandoned/forfeited matches For statisical purposes, when a match has been started and then abandoned but later forfeited, the result on the pitch at the time of abandonment is counted. Matches that never started and were either cancelled or forfeited are not included in the overall statistics. Competitions Other abbreviations (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties No.: Number og: Own goal ag: Match decided on away goals P: Penalty agg: Aggregate Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition Pts: Points D: Drawn R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth Res.: Result ET: Extra Time sg: Match decided by silver goal GA: Goals against t: Match decided by toss of a coin GF: Goals for W: Won gg: Match decided by golden goal Y: Booked L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow cards) Nat.: Nationality N/A: Not applicable Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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