Team of Hope finished 12th at Homeless World Cup 2025

"Team of Hope" lost 6:9 to Lithuania in its last match at the Homeless World Cup 2025 tournament in Oslo and finished in twelfth place - out of a total of 40 teams, BTA reports. The Lithuanians started the match more concentrated on the wet and slippery pitch and quickly took a 4:0 lead. By the end of the first half, both teams had scored two more goals for 2:6. In the second half, "Team of Hope" was better on the field, but in the end managed to reduce the gap by only one goal.
The final ranking of the Bulgarian team this year corresponds to its performance in its previous 10 appearances at the Homeless World Cup, in which it finished on average in 12th-13th place.

This year's Homeless World Cup has new champions. In the men's final match, Egypt defeated Portugal 4:3, and in the women's, Uganda convincingly defeated last year's title holder Mexico 6:0.

"The 20th anniversary world championship was extremely strong. In both the men's and women's divisions, there were at least 5 teams that could beat each other under certain circumstances. Our team had an excellent draw for the first group stage, but in the second we faced two teams that subsequently reached the semifinals. Our ranking realistically reflects the level of the "Team of Hope" 2025", commented the national coach of the Bulgarian team Borislav Ferdinandov.

The next world championship in street football for homeless people - Homeless World Cup 2026, will again take place in Mexico City. The same place also hosted the championships in 2012 and 2018.