Rep. Of Ireland vs Bulgaria match stats & report

2–1 Full time

UEFA Nations League · Play-offs B/C · Aviva Stadium, Dublin · Ref Halil Umut Meler, Türkiye

Rep. Of Ireland stats & fixtures · Bulgaria stats & fixtures

Rep. Of Ireland beat Bulgaria 2–1 in the UEFA Nations League (Play-offs B/C) on 23 March 2025. Rep. Of Ireland had 51% of the ball.

Rep. Of Ireland vs Bulgaria match statistics

Rep. Of IrelandBulgaria

51% Ball possession 49%
14 Total shots 7
5 Shots on target 2
5 Shots off target 3
4 Blocked shots 2
11 Shots inside the box 4
5 Corners 5
12 Fouls 12
2 Offsides 0
3 Yellow cards 3
490 Passes 482
86% Pass accuracy 86%
1 Goalkeeper saves 2

Goals and cards

30' Goal V. Antov Bulgaria
32' Yellow card S. Petrov Bulgaria
40' Yellow card M. Johnston Rep. Of Ireland
44' Yellow card J. Knight Rep. Of Ireland
63' Goal E. Ferguson (assist F. Azaz) Rep. Of Ireland
84' Yellow card I. Gruev Bulgaria
84' Goal A. Idah Rep. Of Ireland
90+2' Yellow card N. Collins Rep. Of Ireland
90+2' Yellow card V. Nikolov Bulgaria

The Ghost's call

The Ghost made no call on this match before kickoff.

Team news & lineups

Rep. Of Ireland

Confirmed 4-4-2 H. Hallgrímsson

1 C. Kelleher

11 Robbie Brady 5 J. O'Brien 22 N. Collins 2 Matt Doherty

7 F. Azaz 8 J. Knight 6 J. Cullen 21 M. Johnston

15 T. Parrott 9 E. Ferguson

Bench A. Idah , R. Manning , M. Sykes , J. Dunne , J. Taylor , Sinclair Armstrong , J. Abankwah , A. Moran , D. O'Shea , G. Bazunu , M. Travers , R. Vata

Bulgaria

Confirmed 5-4-1 I. Iliev

23 P. Iliev

5 F. Nurnberger 14 A. Nedyalkov 15 S. Petrov 6 V. Antov 2 N. Minkov

11 K. Despodov 4 I. Gruev 17 G. Milanov 16 M. Petkov

10 Bozhidar Kraev

Bench V. Nikolov , R. Kirilov , F. Krastev , I. Iliev , S. Shopov , D. Sheytanov , S. Ivanov , A. Kraev , H. Petrov , V. Panayotov , I. Dyulgerov , K. Stoyanov

Form guide

Rep. Of Ireland at home

4–3–0 in 7 matches

Scored: 1.7 per game
Conceded: 0.4 per game
Clean sheets: 5 / 7
Corners: 6.3 per game
Shots on target: 5.1 per game

17% of their goals arrive after the 75th minute.

Based on 7 matches — treat these numbers lightly.

Bulgaria away

3–1–3 in 7 matches

Scored: 2.1 per game
Conceded: 1.9 per game
Clean sheets: 2 / 7
Corners: 2.8 per game
Shots on target: 2.5 per game

20% of their goals arrive after the 75th minute.

Based on 7 matches — treat these numbers lightly.

Rep. Of Ireland vs Bulgaria head-to-head

Date	Match	Score
20 Mar 25	Bulgaria v Rep. Of Ireland	1–2
18 Nov 20	Rep. Of Ireland v Bulgaria	0–0
3 Sep 20	Bulgaria v Rep. Of Ireland	1–1
10 Sep 19	Rep. Of Ireland v Bulgaria	3–1

Only 4 previous meetings on record. The Ghost weights head-to-head lightly — form is a stronger signal.

The full Rep. Of Ireland vs Bulgaria head-to-head record