Bulgaria – Turkey

In Sofia, fans will see a high-scoring match between motivated opponents.

The match in Bulgaria will take place for both opponents during a very important period. After two consecutive defeats at the start of the qualifying stage for the 2026 World Cup, the leadership of the local football federation fired Ilian Iliev from his position as head coach of the Bulgarian team. It is probably not even the defeats themselves that influenced such a decision. The Bulgarian national team had not delighted its fans with success up to September 2025. Iliev's dismissal was a consequence of the team's feeble and uninspired performance against Spain and, even more so, against Georgia. Two weeks after the Bulgarian federation's verdict, Aleksandar Dimitrov was invited to take the coaching position. This coach had led the Bulgarian youth national team for almost seven years. It is clear that this decision was prompted by the fact that the national team would be undergoing a restructuring with a focus on young players. It is quite obvious that in this situation, no one will demand immediate results from Dimitrov, but the desire for the Bulgarian national team players to demonstrate their worth in Saturday's match is a must. Turkey will come to Sofia with its pain. Vincenzo Montella has been in charge of the Turkish national team for more than two years, but he has never experienced such disgrace as a month ago. In his own arena, his team conceded six goals from Spain and failed to respond even once. Undoubtedly, Güler and company have the task of rehabilitating themselves in the upcoming match. Betting companies have marked the guests as the favourites for the forthcoming match, offering odds of 1.24 for their victory. Bulgaria has forgotten about participating in major tournaments over the last couple of decades. In the past two years, the team has failed to move up to League B of the Nations League, losing play-off matches to Ireland, as well as losing the two mentioned matches in the current qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup. Perhaps the upcoming match will differ from the previous ones. The players will take to the field with new objectives, and the lineup will definitely be reconsidered. The stress from the coaching change will benefit the home team, and they will be able to score at least one goal in attack. Turkey is stronger than the upcoming opponent in every position on the field. The guests will arrive with a fighting spirit. Let’s place a bet that Çalhanoğlu, Güler, Yıldız, and company will play very effectively in Sofia.