SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria coach Lyuboslav Penev has been fired following a string of poor results in European Championship qualifying, the latest a 1-1 home draw against Malta.
Federation president Borislav Mihailov did not name a replacement for the 48-year-old Penev, who was appointed in November 2011, but says a foreign coach was not an option.
Bulgaria, which lost to Croatia and Norway in last month’s Euro 2016 qualifiers, is fourth in Group H with four points from as many matches, five points behind Norway and six behind Croatia and Italy.
Penev has previously coached top Bulgarian clubs CSKA Sofia and Litex Lovech. The forward played in several top Spanish clubs like Valencia and Atletico Madrid.