Newsletters
Türkiye delivered a commanding performance against Bulgaria on Saturday, cruising to a 6-1 victory in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying action. The match saw Türkiye control proceedings from start to finish, maintaining 77.8% possession while registering 18 shot attempts to Bulgaria's four.
Arda Guler opened the scoring for Türkiye in the 11th minute with a left-footed strike from the right side of the box to the center of the goal, assisted by Hakan Calhanoglu. The lead was short-lived, however, as Radoslav Kirilov equalized for Bulgaria just two minutes later in the 13th minute, finishing from the center of the box to the bottom right corner with his right foot after receiving a cross from Kiril Despodov.
The first half remained tightly contested, with Türkiye dominating possession but unable to break through Bulgaria's defensive organization. Orkun Kokcu came closest to restoring the lead when his left-footed shot from the right side of the box struck the crossbar in the eighth minute. The teams went into halftime level at 1-1, though the statistics heavily favored the visitors.
Türkiye wasted no time reasserting control after the interval. In the 49th minute, Viktor Popov turned the ball into his own net to give Türkiye a 2-1 advantage. Just two minutes later in the 51st minute, Kenan Yildiz extended the lead with a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner, assisted by Arda Guler.
Yildiz struck again in the 56th minute, completing his brace with another right-footed finish from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner, this time set up by Hakan Calhanoglu. The Juventus forward's two goals highlighted Türkiye's clinical finishing in a dominant second-half display.
Zeki Celik added a fifth goal in the 65th minute, heading home from the right side of the six-yard box after Arda Guler delivered a cross following a corner kick. The Fenerbahce defender's aerial prowess proved too much for the Bulgarian defense to handle.
In stoppage time, Irfan Can Kahveci capped off the scoring with a left-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to the bottom right corner in the 90+3 minute, assisted by Oguz Aydin. The goal put the final touch on a comprehensive performance that saw Türkiye register eight shots on target compared to Bulgaria's two.
The match saw three yellow cards issued, two to Bulgaria and one to Türkiye. Rosen Bozhinov and Radoslav Kirilov both received cautions for Bulgaria in the 42nd and 44th minutes respectively, while Oguz Aydin was booked for Türkiye in the 88th minute for a bad foul on Lukas Petkov.
Both managers utilized their full complement of substitutions. Bulgaria made five changes, bringing on Ivan Turitsov, Martin Minchev, Zdravko Dimitrov, Filip Krastev, and Lukas Petkov. Türkiye also made five substitutions, introducing Salih Ozcan, Irfan Can Kahveci, Can Uzun, Deniz Gul, and Samet Akaydin as the match progressed.
6 min read
