Bulgaria national team manager Atanas Ribarski held a press conference ahead of the upcoming Nations League match against Iceland. The game is scheduled for November 13 at 21:45 at Hristo Botev Stadium in Plovdiv.
At the beginning of his statement, the coach expressed his condolences to the families and relatives of those who died in the serious accident on the Trakia Motorway. He then commented on the state of the national team and explained why Kristian Dimitrov and Valentin Antov were not included in the squad for the upcoming matches.
Ribarski described the atmosphere in the camp as good and stressed that discipline, work ethic and responsibility were his priorities. Regarding Dimitrov, the manager pointed out that the defender had not played against Luxembourg and subsequently had also not taken part in his club team's matches. According to the coach, the most important criterion in the selection process is the players' current physical condition and their readiness to help in the upcoming games.
“We cannot take everyone; this opens the door for younger players. We have less than a year until the European qualifiers. These are the people we have. We hope to have a clearer idea by then,” Ribarski said.
The coach also commented on the situation involving Valentin Antov, who is returning from injury and has not been getting enough playing time. According to him, the defender is a valuable option for the national team, but in the last 11 matches he has played in only one game.
“He is a great option for any manager. I hope we can return the players to their clubs without injuries,” the specialist added.
Ribarski also revealed what the coaching staff had worked on during preparations for the clash with Iceland. The main focus was placed both on Bulgaria's play with the ball and on its organization without it. The manager noted that in previous matches the national team had managed to create scoring chances, but at the same time had also allowed dangerous situations in front of its own goal.
He described Iceland as a well-organized team with the qualities needed to score goals. The Bulgarian staff had analyzed the opponent's performance and paid special attention to the national team's positioning during the defensive phase.
“We focused on the things that worked in the second match; they were different in terms of their overall outlook. Most things worked in the second one. We analyzed how to position ourselves on the pitch during the defensive phase,” the manager explained.
Bulgaria will try to put in a solid performance in front of its supporters in Plovdiv and achieve a positive result against Iceland in the upcoming Nations League match.