20.11.2014 16:47 h

Bulgaria sack coach Penev

Bulgaria sacked national team coach Lyuboslav Penev on Thursday after the team's poor showing in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

"We analysed the situation in the national team. All three years of Lyubo Penev when he had 9 wins, 7 draws and 8 losses... The team's showing has not been good, especially in the past year," Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) president Borislav Mihaylov said.

Penev, 48, a former Valencia and Atletico Madrid striker, was appointed in November 2011 and was largely praised for imposing a regime of hard discipline on the players.

But he came under fire after Bulgaria's losses against Croatia and Norway and the 1-1 home draw against Malta that left the team fourth in Euro2016 qualifying Group H.

The BFU did not immediately announce a replacement.

Penev was part of Bulgaria's all-time best national squad that qualified for the 1994 World Cup, but missed the tournament after being diagnosed with cancer.