The host nation Bulgaria lost at the opening of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship on Wednesday, suffering a 0-2 defeat to Croatia.

The match, which was played at the Beroe stadium in the city of Stara Zagora, was attended by 10 000 spectators and took place right after the official opening ceremony of the tournament.

Croatia took the initiative from the start and came 1-0 in the lead after a goal by Matko Babic in the 24^th minute, uefa.com reports.

Bulgaria improved its performance in the second half, demonstrating greater attacking, but did not materialise its opportunities with Croatia scoring a second goal by Adrian Blecic in the added time.

The other match in Group A, which pitted against each other the teams of Spain and Austria, finished 1-1.

Currently, Croatia occupies the first position in Group A with 3 points, followed by Spain and Austria with 1 point each and Bulgaria with no points.

In the opening games of Group B, which were also played on Wednesday, the Czech Republic defeated Slovenia with 1-0, while Belgium lost to Germany with 0-2.

Bulgaria will next face Spain on Saturday and Austria on May 12, in an attempt to occupy one of the first two spots in the group in order to proceed to the quarterfinals.

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