Bulgaria suffered a second consecutive defeat in the World Cup qualifiers, once again losing 0:3. After falling to Spain in Sofia three days ago, Ilian Iliev’s side was beaten by Georgia in Tbilisi, leaving the “lions” bottom of their group with zero points.
The match was played at the Boris Paichadze Stadium in front of 50,000 spectators. Georgia opened the scoring in the 30th minute when their star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck with a precise diagonal shot into the far corner. Just before halftime, Nika Gagnidze doubled the lead with a powerful effort that slipped between Svetoslav Vutsov’s legs. Midway through the second half, Villarreal’s new signing Georges Mikautadze sealed the final 3:0 with a close-range finish, confirmed after a VAR review.
Ilian Iliev made several changes compared to the lineup against Spain. Vutsov started in goal, with Nikolay Minkov, Christian Dimitrov, Rosen Bozhinov, and Anton Nedyalkov in defense. The midfield trio was formed by Andrian Kraev, Emil Tsenov, and captain Georgi Milanov. Up front, Marin Petkov and Radoslav Kirilov supported striker Vladimir Nikolov, who replaced Alexander Kolev. Notably, the entire midfield that began the Spain match – Iliya Gruev, Ivaylo Chochev, and Vasil Panayotov – started on the bench.
The game began under heavy rain that quickly subsided. In the fourth minute, Kirilov broke down the left and forced a save from Giorgi Mamardashvili, though the flag was raised for offside. Soon after, Petkov tested the Georgian goalkeeper with a header. The hosts responded in the ninth minute with a dangerous shot from Otar Kakabadze, but Vutsov was alert to deny him. For a spell, Bulgaria defended well against Georgia’s pressure before Kvaratskhelia’s opener tilted the match.
By halftime, Gagnidze’s strike had made it 2:0, and Iliev introduced fresh legs – Gruev came on for Kraev, while Fabian Nurnberger replaced Minkov. The atmosphere in the stands was further fueled by news of Georgia’s basketball victory over France at EuroBasket 2025, sparking wild celebrations.
In the 65th minute, Mikautadze netted Georgia’s third goal, initially disallowed for offside but reinstated after a VAR check. From then on, the hosts slowed the tempo, content to protect their advantage. Bulgaria’s best chance for a consolation came in the 76th minute, when Petkov’s left-footed strike went narrowly wide. Georgia could have added a fourth late on, with Giorgi Guliashvili missing from close range, while another home player sent a shot just past the post.
The final whistle confirmed Bulgaria’s second straight 0:3 defeat, underlining the difficult start to their qualifying campaign.