site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria Lose to Turkiye 0-2 in FIFA World Cup Qualifier

Bulgaria lost to Turkiye 0-2 in a Group E qualifier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Saturday's game in Matli Stadium in the Turkish city of Bursa brought the fifth loss in as many qualifying matches for the Bulgarian national football team.

It leaves them at the bottom in the group before the last round, with no points won, just one goal scored and 18 goals received. Turkiye are second in Group E. Spain are at the top, with a perfect score of five wins in five matches, 19 goals scored and zero received.

During the match in Bursa, Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty kick for Turkiye in the 18th minute, and Atanas Chernev scored an own goal in the 84th minute.

At a press conference, Bulgaria coach Alexandar Dimitrov praised the Turkish team by saying that they are "in a different league" compared to Bulgaria. He said his squad tried to do their best.

Discussing the penalty kick awarded to the hosts, Dimitrov said: "Nowadays it is very hard to form a firm opinion about whether a penalty is justified or not. Any leniency towards such a strong team can skew the result. The referee might not have given the penalty just as well – but we accept his decision."