Bulgaria's football coach Stoitchkov surprisingly included Blagoy Gerogiev, 22, in the starting eleven against Croatia.
That will be the young midfielder's debut in the national team.
Another surprising choice before the key World Cup qualifier was goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov. According to initial reports, veteran Zdravko Zdravkov had to face the Croatians, instead of his younger teammate.
Hristo Stoitchkov published the names of the Bulgarian players shortly before the kick-off: Dimitar Ivankov, Georgi Markov, Ilian Stoyanov, Ivaylo Petkov, Radostin Kishishev, Stiliyan Petrov, Chavdar Yankov, Valeri Bojinov, Blagoy Georgiev, Martin Petrov, Dimitar Berbatov.