Bulgaria take on the visitors Northern Ireland in the round 2 match of UEFA Nations League group stage. The match will be played on Sunday, September 8th at Stadion Hristo Botev (Plovdiv).
The "Brothers" haven’t appeared in major tournaments since Euro 2004, so the expanded formats of the World Cup and European Championship, with more participants, offer the green-white-red team a chance to qualify for a major tournament after 20 years. Unfortunately, the era of Stoichkov, Balakov, Lechkov, Zdravkov, and company is long gone, and nothing equally significant has grown at the national team level. The team plays a pragmatic style, struggling with scoring, though Kiril Despodov, who is well-known in Europe, looks decent at the forefront. Their start in the Nations League against Belarus in Hungary was mixed (0-0). In the first half, Iliev's men missed many chances, and in the second half, they were reduced to 10 men, leaving the final result a matter of mixed feelings. Hosting a tough, pragmatic opponent in Plovdiv will also be challenging. Bulgarian matches have been low-scoring lately, with under 2.5 goals in their last five games, and this one could follow the same trend.
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The Northern Irish, in typical British fashion, focus heavily on set pieces, crosses, and aerial duels. Regardless, they managed to start the new Nations League campaign well with a 2-0 win over Luxembourg in Belfast. O’Neill’s men sealed the result within the first 15 minutes through their two center-backs, Ballard and McNair, and then calmly saw out the victory. Earlier in the summer, they also beat Andorra by the same scoreline, again thanks to their first-half efforts. In Plovdiv, they’ll surely try to contest the initiative. This team isn’t known for being entertaining or prolific either—five of Northern Ireland's last six matches have also ended with under 2.5 goals.
I think we’re in for a gritty match filled with tight battles, physicality, and low tempo—a reflection of both teams’ styles as they begin their quest for qualification to the 2026 World Cup, each with different results. Not only do their playing styles suggest a low-scoring affair, but history is also on our side—under 2.5 goals has come through in three of their last four head-to-heads. Given the solid defensive capabilities of both teams and the factors mentioned above, let's stick with a bet on under 2.5 goals, which has been a common outcome in their encounters.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
