Popov dreams of scoring against ‘top two’ team in the world
BULGARIA captain Ivelin Popov hopes he can add some memorabilia to his collection when his side take on England at Wembley.
Striker Popov owns the shirt of the only Bulgaria internationalist to score at England’s national stadium, having bought Georgi Asparuhov’s shirt at an auction.
Asparuhov scored in a 1-1 draw with the Three Lions in 1968 in a game where Geoff Hurst also netted and Popov is dreaming of following in his footsteps tonight.
He will lead his side out having been part of the team who were defeated 4-0 at Wembley in a Euro 2012 qualifier nine years ago.
He said: “It is every player’s dream, everyone wants to score at Wembley, I bought the shirt at an auction and it is mine.”
Popov believes England are one of the top two sides in the world, but has spoken with his team-mates about the inspiration that playing under the arch can provide.
“The main difference [from the previous game] is that nine years ago they were in the world’s top 10, now they are in the world’s top two,” Popov added. “So this says a lot about their philosophy and the way people have been working and you can see the results speak for themselves.
“I remember well at 2-0 we had a couple of chances, one for myself, but we missed them. It was 4-0 with Jermain Defoe scoring a hat-trick.”
Bulgaria have next to no chance of qualifying for next summer’s tournament as they have only two points from four games and they still have England and the Czech Republic to play twice.
Coach Krasimir Balakov is looking to the future and is using England as a team to emulate.
“I very much appreciate what Gareth Southgate is doing with the England team,” Balakov said. “I would like the Bulgaria team to play with the same style that England does in a few years.
“For the time being we are aware of our potential and quality and we only want to have a good game.
“We have to be ready for their type of dynamic, modern football, this is the chance for all the players to see what I expect of them.”