Bulgaria no longer have players like Hristo Stoichkov, Krasimir Balakov and Yordan Letchkov, members of the golden generation of Bulgarian football that finished fourth at the 1994 World Cup. That is why the Bulgarians now struggle against sides like Luxembourg: they simply do not have enough top-class players.
Luxembourg should not be underestimated either. They scored three away goals in a match for the first time in their history, looked genuinely good on the pitch and showed great discipline against the favourites.
The first half began with an early goal from Dimitar Rangelov, a long-range strike, and at that point nobody expected what was to come. Little else happened before the break, and it stayed 1-0. A few minutes after half-time, Joachim equalised following a big error in the Bulgarian defence. Just a couple of minutes later Joachim stunned the home side again: 1-2.
Luxembourg’s joy lasted only three minutes, until Marcelinho found the net for Bulgaria from a corner. It looked as though the hosts would not be able to win the game until the 80th minute, when Spartak Moscow’s Ivelin Popov converted a free kick to make it 3-2.
The drama was not over. In the first minute of added time, 18-year-old Florian Bohnert equalised, scoring his first international goal in only his second appearance. The teenager used his pace and finished with a superb volley: 3-3.
Just as the game seemed headed for a draw, substitute Aleksandar Tonev struck from long range only seconds after the equaliser. Bulgaria took all three points in their first qualifier, and the group already looked finely balanced, with Belarus and France drawing 0-0 and Sweden and the Netherlands drawing 1-1.
The goals minute by minute
The match was played on 6 September 2016 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. The official record of the game shows how late the drama came: Dimitar Rangelov opened the scoring in the 16th minute, Aurélien Joachim struck twice in the 60th and 62nd minutes, Marcelinho levelled in the 65th and Ivelin Popov put Bulgaria back in front in the 79th. Florian Bohnert made it 3-3 in the first minute of stoppage time, and Aleksandar Tonev’s winner followed in the second.
A group of heavyweights
Bulgaria and Luxembourg had been drawn in Group A of European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup alongside France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belarus. Only the group winners were guaranteed a place at the finals in Russia, while the best runners-up went into a play-off, which made the points against the smaller nations essential for every side.
Bulgaria’s best result of the campaign came in Sofia on 25 March 2017, when Delev scored twice in the first 20 minutes to beat the Netherlands 2-0. The return meeting in Amsterdam on 3 September 2017 ended in a 3-1 win for the Dutch.
How the group finished
France won Group A with 23 points from ten matches and qualified directly for the World Cup. Sweden and the Netherlands both finished on 19 points, with Sweden taking second place on goal difference, which meant the Netherlands missed out on the finals despite winning six of their ten matches. The Swedes then beat Italy 1-0 on aggregate in the play-off in November 2017, a result that left Italy out of the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
Bulgaria finished fourth with 13 points, four wins from ten games, and missed out on the finals. Luxembourg ended fifth with six points, ahead of Belarus on five. Sweden were the highest scorers in the group with 26 goals, eight more than the winners France.
Questions people ask
Who scored in Bulgaria’s 4-3 win over Luxembourg?
Dimitar Rangelov, Marcelinho, Ivelin Popov and Aleksandar Tonev scored for Bulgaria. Aurélien Joachim scored twice for Luxembourg and Florian Bohnert added a stoppage-time equaliser before Tonev’s winner.
When and where was Bulgaria v Luxembourg played?
The match took place on 6 September 2016 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. It was Bulgaria’s first match in Group A of European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
Did Bulgaria qualify for the 2018 World Cup?
No. Bulgaria finished fourth in Group A with 13 points. France won the group, and Sweden took second place ahead of the Netherlands on goal difference.
Which teams were in Group A of 2018 World Cup qualifying?
The group contained France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Belarus. France won it with 23 points, while Belarus finished bottom with five.