The delegate from Uruguay, sent by FIFA to the match between Bulgaria and the Solomon Islands from the first round of the “FIFA Series 2026“ tournament in Indonesia, personally brought the ball from the match to Bulgarian striker Vladimir Nikolov, admitted the player himself, quoted by BTA. Nikolov scored three of Bulgaria's ten goals in the convincing 10:2 victory over the team from Oceania. Traditionally, the author of the hat-trick receives the ball as a souvenir. The last, tenth goal in the match, was the subject of discussion for a long time - whether it was scored by the Bulgarian or an own goal. However, after reviewing the video, the referee and the delegate officially confirmed that Nikolov was the author of the hat-trick.
The striker of the Polish Korona Kielce appeared on the field after the break and scored in the 53rd minute for 6:1, in the 81st for 9:2 and made the final 10:2 in the 93rd minute. He spoke to the media before the upcoming match with Indonesia and expressed confidence and ambition for new goals.
The achievement is the first hat-trick for the Bulgarian men's national team since March 22, 2013, when Alexander Tonev scored three goals against Malta in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. Then Bulgaria won 6:0.
Nikolov also had a hat-trick for the youth national team in a 5:0 win over Gibraltar in a 2021 European qualifier. Then he scored three goals in the opening minutes of the match and played a key role in the decisive success.