Coach Stanimir Stoilov hopes that Petrov, who has been out of action since August with a serious knee injury, will boost Bulgaria's attack. Photo by BGNES
Manchester City winger Martin Petrov has been recalled to Bulgaria's squad for next week's World Cup 2010 qualifier against Ireland.
Coach Stanimir Stoilov hopes that Petrov, who has been out of action since August with a serious knee injury, will boost Bulgaria's attack along with City teammate Valeri Bojinov, and Manchester United forward Dimitar Berbatov.
Bulgaria is third in Group 8 with seven points from five games. Italy leads with 14 points from six matches, and Ireland with 12 points.
The full squad for the qualifications is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Dimitar Ivankov (Bursaspor), Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente).
Defenders: Zhivko Milanov (Levski Sofia), Yordan Todorov (CSKA Sofia), Elin Topuzakov (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Radostin Kishishev (Litex Lovech), Igor Tomasic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Iliyan Stoyanov (Sanfreche).
Midfielders: Stiliyan Petrov (Aston Villa), Stanislav Angelov (Energie Cottbus), Dimitar Telkiyski (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Velizar Dimitrov (Metalurg Donetsk), Blagoy Georgiev (Terek Groznyi).
Forwards: Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United), Martin Petrov (Manchester City), Dimitar Rangelov (Energie Cottbus), Valeri Bojinov (Manchester City), Valeri Domovchiyski (Hertha Berlin), Dimitar Makriev (Ashdod).