In front of the full stands of the “Spartak“ stadium in Varna, the star selection of Bulgaria lost 2:3 to their colleagues from the Republic of North Macedonia in a charity match in support of the victims of the fire in the disco in Kochani. The guests managed to take the lead three times, the Bulgarians equalized twice, but Darko Tasevski's goal in the 57th minute brought the victory to the guests.
Before the start of the match, the memory of those who died in the fire in Kochani was honored with a minute of silence.
In the first half, the game was equal, with our national team making more passes in front of the opponent's goal in the person of Krasimir Balakov and Daniel Borimirov. In the 14th minute, Bulgaria had the clearest chance, when Aleksandar Aleksandrov dived to head the ball, but the North Macedonian goalkeeper managed to save it. The visitors opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, with Risto Bozhinov scoring the goal. In the 35th minute, goalkeeper Radostin Stanev saved a dangerous shot by Goran Georgievski.
In the 37th minute, referee Atanas Uzunov awarded a penalty for Bulgaria, which Martin Kamburov converted a minute later to make it 1:1. In the 39th minute, Goran Pandev fell in the home team's penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty, which the injured player converted in the 40th minute. In the 50th minute, Bulgaria hit the post through Gosho Ginchev, who headed the ball. In the 52nd minute, Petar Mihtarski equalized after a scuffle in the North Macedonian penalty area. In the 57th minute, North Macedonia took the lead again, and Darko Tasevski was accurate, scoring from 13-14 meters and bringing the victory to the guests.
For Bulgaria, the following players participated in the match: Borislav Mihaylov, Zlatko Yankov, Hristo Stoichkov, Yordan Lechkov, Nasko Sirakov, Daniel Borimirov, Plamen Nikolov, Ivaylo Yordanov, Boncho Genchev, Iliyan Kiryakov, Petar Mihtarski, Petar Alexandrov, Georgi Georgiev, Krasimir Balakov and Ivaylo Andonov.
Due to urgent commitments and illnesses, Emil Kremenliev, Emil Kostadinov, Tsanko Tsvetanov, Petar Hubchev, Nikolay Iliev and Velko Yotov missed the match.
The former national team players Radoslav Stanev, Elin Topuzakov, Gosho Ginchev, Stanislav Angelov, Doncho Donev, Alexander Alexandrov, Martin Kamburov and Valeri Bozhinov.
For the Republic of North Macedonia, the squad is Dancho Celeski, Zoran Micevski, Ilija Najdoski, Nikolche Noveski, Igor Mitrevski, Boshko Djurovski, Svetozar Stankovski, Goran Bashkovski, Goran Georgievski, Ljubcho Markovski, Sasho Miloshevski, Goran Pandev, Maryancho Stojkovski, Toni Micevski, Nedzmedin Memedi, Risto Bozhinov, Vancho Trayanov, Darko Tasevski, Dragi Kanatlarovski, Georgi Hristov, Zoran Boshkovski, Arjent Bekiri and Vancho Micevski. The coach is Gjoko Hadzhievski.
The team captains were the winner of the “Golden Ball“ in 1994 Hristo Stoichkov and Goran Pandev - the former striker of Napoli, Inter and Lazio, with whom he won one title, one Super Cup and five Italian Cups. With the "black and blue" from Milan, he is also a winner of the Champions League and world club champion in 2010.
The main referee of the match was Atanas Uzunov.
Before the charity match, the audience was provided with a rich entertainment program with the participation of the Argirov brothers, Volodya Stoyanov, the singer from North Macedonia Andriana Petrushovska, the duo Exploze, Elitsa Todorova, and the dance club “Star Dance“.
The organizers of the event are the “Nationals 94“ Foundation in partnership with the Municipality of Varna, which supported the event with 120,000 leva.