Former international Ilian Iliev has been named coach of the Bulgarian team until May 2026, the National Football Federation (BFU) announced on Wednesday, after the dismissal of Serbian Mladen Krstajic for “insufficient results”. Iliev, 55, will make his debut in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Hungary and Serbia on November 16 and 19, while Bulgaria are bottom of Group G, with just 2 points from 6 matches.
This former midfielder played for several Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek and Portuguese clubs, including Benfica, before retraining as a coach for different teams in his country of origin, including Cherno More Varna, which he will leave at the end of the season. Bulgaria maintains a slim hope of competing in Euro 2024 via the play-offs, thanks to its ranking in the Nations League. She has not participated in a major tournament since the 2004 European Championship.