Bulgaria ready for last throw of dice

Uncapped goalkeeper Ivailo Petrov has been called into the Bulgaria squad at the age of 34 for their last UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers against Romania and Slovenia.

Lazarov recalled
Wins in Sofia on 17 November and Celje four days later are needed for Dimitar Penev's side to keep alive their slim hopes of reaching the finals, but they also need the Netherlands to take no more than one point against Luxembourg and Belarus, the bottom two teams in Group G. Petrov, one of five players from PFC CSKA Sofia, replaces the injured Georgi Petkov of PFC Levski Sofia, who also supply a quintet to the squad. Striker Zdravko Lazarov is recalled having last played more than a year ago after showing fine form since his return to Bulgaria with PFC Slavia Sofia. Manchester City FC forward Valeri Bozhinov is sidelined with a knee injury.

Bulgaria squad
Goalkeepers: Dimitar Ivankov (Kayserispor), Ivailo Petrov (PFC CSKA Sofia).

Defenders: Alexander Tunchev (PFC CSKA Sofia), Valentin Iliev (PFC CSKA Sofia), Yordan Todorov (PFC CSKA Sofia), Lucio Wagner (PFC Levski Sofia), Igor Tomašić (PFC Levski Sofia), Zhivko Milanov (PFC Levski Sofia), Stanislav Angelov (FC Energie Cottbus), Petar Zanev (RC Celta de Vigo).

Midfielders: Chavdar Yankov (Hannover 96), Blagoy Georgiev (MSV Duisburg), Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa FC), Dimitar Telikiyski (PFC Levski Sofia), Velizar Dimitrov (PFC CSKA Sofia), Marcho Dafchev (PFC Lokomotiv Sofia).

Forwards: Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur FC), Martin Petrov (Manchester City FC), Hristo Yovov (PFC Levski Sofia), Zdravko Lazarov (PFC Slavia Sofia).