Bulgaria v Malta background
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Article summary
Having won all five of their previous home ties against Malta, Bulgaria will look to make it six in a row as the sides reconvene in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group H.
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Article body
With nearly 40 years since their last UEFA European Championship encounters, Bulgaria will look to confirm their historical supremacy over Malta in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group H.
Match background
• Bulgaria's 11 matches against Malta have ended W9 D2 L0 (W5 D0 L0 at home, W4 D2 L0 in Malta).
• They first came together in their only previous UEFA European Championship encounters, in qualifying for the 1976 finals. On 1 June 1975, Stoyan Ormandzhiev's Bulgaria beat Terenzio Polvertini's Malta 5-0 in Sofia, with goals from Borislav Dimitrov (2), Georgi Denev (22), Pavel Panov (25), Hristo Bonev (68) and Kiril Milanov (71). Panov (69) and Stoyan Iordanov (88) scored in the return fixture on 21 December 1975, a 2-0 win at Empire Stadium in Gzira.
• The sides have been paired in three FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns – for the 2002, 2006 and 2014 finals. In those most recent games, Luboslav Penev's Bulgaria beat Pietro Ghedin's Malta 6-0 in Sofia on 22 March 2013, Alexandar Tonev scoring his first three international goals (6, 38 and 68), with Ivelin Popov (47), Emil Gargarov (55) and Ivan Ivanov (78) completing the rout.
• The return leg in Ta' Qali was closer, Radoslav Dimitrov (9) and Emil Gargorov (59) scoring for the visitors, before Edward Herrera (78) gave Malta some late hope.
• The nations' nine meetings in UEFA youth and age-group competitions have ended W7 D2 L0 to the Bulgarian sides, with the most recent encounter a 1-1 UEFA European Under-21 Championship draw in Ta' Qali on 11 October 2005.
• The nations' clubs have met nine times in UEFA competition with the Bulgarian sides victorious in all nine matches. Most recently, PFC Litex Lovech beat Sliema Wanderers FC 7-0 on aggregate in the first round of the 2007/08 UEFA Cup.
