Ludogorets talents once again play key roles in U16 National Team victory

Ludogorets' young talents once again played a crucial role in securing a second consecutive win for Bulgaria's U16 National Team in the UEFA Development Tournament. This time, the young "Lions" edged out their Latvian peers with a 3:2 victory, with two of the goals scored by Ludogorets Academy players – Nikolay Popov and Yastian Georgiev.

The match remained tense and thrilling until the final whistle, with several lead changes along the way. Team captain Nikolay Popov opened the scoring in the 5th minute, calmly converting a penalty after being fouled in the box. Latvia responded with a penalty of their own in the 42nd minute, leveling the score at 1:1.

Just 10 minutes later, Bulgaria regained the lead thanks to a stunning long-range strike from Ludogorets gem Yastian Georgiev. He fired a powerful left-footed shot from outside the box, sending the ball straight into the Latvian net.

The drama didn’t stop there, as a Latvian attacker soon found himself one-on-one with Bulgaria’s goalkeeper Aleksandar Panayotov. Despite several crucial saves from the Ludogorets Academy keeper, Latvia managed to equalize again in the 72nd minute.

Showing great character and resilience, the Bulgarian U16 team pushed forward and needed just five more minutes to score the winning goal. The decisive play was orchestrated by two Ludogorets youngsters – Vasil Ivanov controlled the ball and set up Nikolay Popov, whose smart through pass helped seal the 3:2 victory.

In the team’s opening match of the UEFA Development Tournament, Ludogorets players also shined in the win over Luxembourg. All six academy players coached by Milen Marinov started the game, with Nikolay Popov once again scoring the opener and netting two of Bulgaria’s three goals in the 3:1 success.