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See live & upcoming matchesIceland put three past Luxembourg without reply on 29 September. Three days earlier, Bulgaria had lost at home to that same Luxembourg side, 1-2. Those two results, three days apart, have pulled Iceland and Bulgaria in opposite directions going into Saturday's UEFA Nations League meeting.
Iceland have taken four points from their opening two matches, a 1-1 draw with Estonia followed by that 3-0 win away at Luxembourg. Manager Arnar Gunnlaugsson's side have not lost in the group so far, and the margin of the Luxembourg win was the most convincing result either team has produced in this campaign.
Bulgaria have one point from the same two fixtures: the 1-2 home defeat to Luxembourg, then a 0-0 draw with Estonia on 29 September. Head coach Aleksandar Dimitrov resigned after the Estonia game, reportedly describing the performance as chaotic, and Atanas Ribarski has taken interim charge while the federation looks for a permanent replacement. A new man in the dugout, even on an interim basis, is never an ideal preparation for a trip to Reykjavik.
Both sides played a string of friendlies over the summer and spring that hint at where they stand against varied opposition. Iceland lost 3-0 to Argentina and 1-0 to Japan, drew 1-1 with Haiti, and beat Canada 2-0. Bulgaria drew 2-2 with Moldova, lost 0-1 to Montenegro, won 1-0 away at Indonesia and beat the Solomon Islands 10-2 in a FIFA Series fixture. None of those results count toward Group C4, but they show two squads who have had mixed results against a wide range of opposition heading into the competitive matches that do count.
Iceland
Bulgaria
