National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) After a rather tough play, U21 Costa Rica's Mićo Grande got a free kick in the 3rd minute. U21 Costa Rica's Olger Azofeifa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Zhivko Presolski in the 6th minute of play. Olger Azofeifa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Zhivko Presolski, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 16 minutes into the match, U21 Costa Rica's goal looked a bit too open when Hristo Zlatanchev came free, but Olger Azofeifa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Stoyadin Shahov made an important save on a dangerous shot by Mainor Calderon in the 18th minute. In the 22nd minute, Hristo Zlatanchev ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Olger Azofeifa was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. 24 minutes into the game, Hristo Zlatanchev cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Olger Azofeifa was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Olger Azofeifa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Zhivko Presolski in the 33rd minute of the match. Stoyadin Shahov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Mainor Calderon's shot from short distance in the 37th minute. When U21 Costa Rica's Mainor Calderon in the 37th minute got a chance for a shot 37th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 Bulgaria's goalie prevented a goal. 38 minutes into the match, Hristo Zlatanchev had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Olger Azofeifa. U21 Costa Rica's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Hristo Zlatanchev was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-3. After a rather tough play, U21 Bulgaria's Vanko Katzarski got a free kick in the 42nd minute. In the 43rd minute, Elbert Gudov made a precise shot to the right of Stoyadin Shahov. U21 Bulgaria's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-3. 46 minutes into the match, U21 Costa Rica's goal looked a bit too open when Hristo Zlatanchev came free, but Olger Azofeifa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Mainor Calderon made a kick off. Ramon Mena kicked well hit freekick during the 56th minute of the match. Ramon Mena hit a great freekick 57 minutes into the match. Stoyadin Shahov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Mainor Calderon's shot from short distance in the 59th minute. 61 minutes into the match, U21 Bulgaria's goal looked a bit too open when Elbert Gudov came free, but Stoyadin Shahov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Costa Rica were awarded a corner in the 65th minute after U21 Bulgaria's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Mićo Grande took the corner. A well-hit corner resulted in Elbert Gudov heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. 68 minutes into the match, U21 Bulgaria's goal looked a bit too open when Felipe Porras came free, but Stoyadin Shahov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The audience was convinced that Samuil Bibin's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Olger Azofeifa was relentless in the 69th minute of the game. Stoyadin Shahov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mainor Calderon in the 73rd minute of play. Olger Azofeifa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Velislav Tzapov, who was totally free with the ball in the 75th minute. In the 77th minute Stoimen Neshov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Olger Azofeifa saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Elbert Gudov in the 85th minute of play forced U21 Bulgaria's goalkeeper Stoyadin Shahov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Stoyadin Shahov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Elbert Gudov in the 87th minute of play. U21 Costa Rica were furious when Martin Picado was red carded, 89 minutes into the game, but the referee dismissed their protests. In the 92nd minute there was a penalty for U21 Bulgaria. Samuil Bibin stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Olger Azofeifa. 1-4. An unexpectedly hard shot by Humberto Herrera in the 95th minute of play forced U21 Bulgaria's goalkeeper Stoyadin Shahov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 Costa Rica's Felipe Porras got a good chance for a goal in the 99th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. When the match was over U21 Bulgaria could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than U21 Costa Rica throughout the match.