Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria · UEFA Nations League
Ireland beat Bulgaria 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League. Full match statistics, the goal timeline and both lineups are below.
Ireland fixtures and results · Bulgaria fixtures and results · UEFA Nations League table
Match report
Ireland and Bulgaria met in the UEFA Nations League at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Sunday, 23 March 2025.
Goalscorers
Ireland: E. Ferguson 63'; A. Idah 84'. Bulgaria: V. Antov 30'.
How the match went
The referee showed 6 yellow cards (3 for Ireland, 3 for Bulgaria).
Line-ups
Ireland started in a 4-4-2: Caoimhin Kelleher, Matt Doherty, Nathan Collins, Jake O'Brien, Robbie Brady, Mikey Johnston, Josh Cullen, Jason Knight, Finn Azaz, Evan Ferguson, Troy Parrott.
Bulgaria started in a 5-4-1: Plamen Iliev, Nikolay Minkov, Valentin Antov, Simeon Petrov, Anton Nedyalkov, Fabian Nürnberger, Marin Petkov, Georgi Milanov, Ilia Gruev, Kiril Despodov, B. Kraev.
More from this competition: UEFA Nations League fixtures, results and table.
Minute by minute
- 30'Goal! Ireland 0-1 Bulgaria. V. Antov (Bulgaria) scores.
- 45'Half-time. Ireland 0-1 Bulgaria.
- 63'Goal! Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria. E. Ferguson (Ireland) scores, assisted by F. Azaz.
- 84'Goal! Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria. A. Idah (Ireland) scores.
- 90'Full-time. Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria.
Full commentary (43 lines)
- 1'Kick-off: Ireland vs Bulgaria.
- 4'Attempt missed. F. Azaz (Ireland), left-footed shot from a corner. xG 0.03.
- 4'Attempt saved. J. O'Brien (Ireland), header from a corner. xG 0.11.
- 10'Attempt missed. M. Johnston (Ireland), header from a throw-in. xG 0.07.
- 30'Goal! Ireland 0-1 Bulgaria. V. Antov (Bulgaria) scores.
- 30'Attempt blocked. G. Milanov (Bulgaria), left-footed shot from a corner. xG 0.02.
- 32'Yellow card for S. Petrov (Bulgaria).
- 35'Attempt missed. T. Parrott (Ireland), header. xG 0.09.
- 40'Yellow card for M. Johnston (Ireland).
- 43'Attempt saved. J. O'Brien (Ireland), header from a corner. xG 0.11.
- 44'Yellow card for J. Knight (Ireland).
- 45'2 minutes of added time.
- 45'Half-time. Ireland 0-1 Bulgaria.
- 46'The second half is under way.
- 49'Attempt missed. M. Johnston (Ireland), right-footed shot. xG 0.05.
- 52'Attempt blocked. M. Johnston (Ireland), right-footed shot. xG 0.16.
- 53'Attempt missed. F. Azaz (Ireland), left-footed shot from a set piece. xG 0.05.
- 55'Attempt saved. E. Ferguson (Ireland), right-footed shot. xG 0.04.
- 57'Attempt saved. F. Nürnberger (Bulgaria), left-footed shot. xG 0.06.
- 60'Substitution, Bulgaria: V. Nikolov comes on for B. Kraev.
- 61'Attempt missed. F. Nürnberger (Bulgaria), left-footed shot from a corner. xG 0.02.
- 63'Goal! Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria. E. Ferguson (Ireland) scores, assisted by F. Azaz.
- 65'Substitution, Ireland: A. Idah comes on for M. Johnston.
- 66'Substitution, Ireland: M. Sykes comes on for T. Parrott.
- 66'Substitution, Ireland: R. Manning comes on for R. Brady.
- 67'Attempt missed. M. Petkov (Bulgaria), left-footed shot from a corner. xG 0.02.
- 72'Attempt blocked. F. Azaz (Ireland), left-footed shot. xG 0.04.
- 74'Substitution, Ireland: J. Dunne comes on for E. Ferguson.
- 75'Substitution, Bulgaria: R. Kirilov comes on for M. Petkov.
- 75'Substitution, Bulgaria: F. Krastev comes on for G. Milanov.
- 82'Substitution, Ireland: J. Taylor comes on for J. Knight.
- 84'Goal! Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria. A. Idah (Ireland) scores.
- 84'Yellow card for I. Gruev (Bulgaria).
- 86'Attempt blocked. F. Krastev (Bulgaria), right-footed shot. xG 0.04.
- 89'Substitution, Bulgaria: S. Shopov comes on for I. Gruev.
- 89'Substitution, Bulgaria: I. Iliev comes on for F. Nürnberger.
- 90'Attempt blocked. M. Sykes (Ireland), right-footed shot from a corner. xG 0.04.
- 90'Attempt blocked. J. Dunne (Ireland), header from a corner. xG 0.15.
- 90'6 minutes of added time.
- 90+2'Yellow card for V. Nikolov (Bulgaria).
- 90+2'Yellow card for N. Collins (Ireland).
- 90+3'Attempt missed. R. Kirilov (Bulgaria), left-footed shot from a corner. xG 0.04.
- 90'Full-time. Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria.