A look back at England’s past meetings with Bulgaria

The nations go head-to-head in Sofia on Monday night.

England are preparing to face Bulgaria in Sofia as they continue their bid to qualify for next summer’s European Championship.

The two nations have met on 11 previous occasions and boss Gareth Southgate will be keen to maintain the Three Lions’ unbeaten record against the Eastern Europeans when they renew acquaintances on Monday.

Bulgaria 0 England 0, June 1962

England’s first game against Bulgaria was a World Cup group match in Chile, with Johnny Haynes captaining the team in what would be his penultimate international appearance.

England 1 Bulgaria 1, December 1968

England v West Germany — England’s World Cup winners were held 1-1 by Bulgaria in 1968, with Geoff Hurst (right) on the score sheet (PA Archive)

Bulgaria 0 England 1, June 1974

Frank Worthington scored the winning goal as caretaker manager Joe Mercer oversaw a friendly win at the Vasil Levski national stadium in Sofia.

Bulgaria 0 England 3, June 1979

Kevin Keegan, Dave Watson and Peter Barnes scored the goals as Ron Greenwood’s team were convincing winners in a European Championship qualifier.

England 2 Bulgaria 0, November 1979

Glenn Hoddle made his England debut against Bulgaria in 1979 (PA Archive)

England 1 Bulgaria 0, March 1996

Terry Venables’ side continued their preparations for Euro 96 with a win thanks to an early goal from Les Ferdinand at Wembley.

England 0 Bulgaria 0, October 1998

Michael Owen — England were held by Bulgaria at Wembley in 1998 (Tony Harris/PA)

Bulgaria 1 England 1, June 1999

The return fixture in European Championship qualification saw England struggle again as Alan Shearer scored in another disappointing draw under Keegan, with Bulgaria having had Martin Petrov sent off before the hour.

England 4 Bulgaria 0, September 2010

Jermain Defoe struck a hat-trick against Bulgaria in 2010 (David Davies/PA)

Bulgaria 0 England 3, September 2011

Wayne Rooney helped England to victory in their last meeting with Bulgaria (Owen Humphreys/PA)

England 4 Bulgaria 0, September 2019

England v Bulgaria – UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying – Group A – Wembley Stadium — Harry Kane scored his second international hat-trick last month (Tim Goode/PA)