Bulgaria 1-6 Turkiye Highlights, FIFA World Cup Europe Qualifiers: Guler, Yildiz Shine In Big Win For Crescent-Stars

A warm welcome to all the football fans tuning in to the start of our live blog on the Bulgaria vs Turkiye match in Sofia. With the group stage about to be halfway done, tonight’s result will set the tone for the upcoming clashes in Group E. Stay tuned for the pre-match updates and lineups as they are released ahead of the 12:15 AM IST kick-off.

• India: Sony LIV, Sony Ten 5, Sony Ten 5 HD

• Bulgaria: bnt.bg, BNT News App, BNT 1, BNT 3

• Turkiye: Exxen, TV8

You can also follow the Bulgaria vs Turkiye live scores on Outlook India for free. Read our detailed live-streaming guide for the match.

Starting XI: Dimitar Mitov (gk); Hristiyan Petrov, Rosen Bozhinov, Petko Hristov, Viktor Popov; Kristiyan Stoyanov, Andrian Kraev; Radoslav Kirilov, Ivajlo Chochev, Marin Petkov; Kiril Kespodov

Bench: Dimitar Sheytanov (gk), Svetoslav Vutsov (gk), Atanas Chernev, Dimitar Velkovski, Ivan Turitsov, Ilia Gruev, Stanislav Shopov, Filip Krastev, Lukas Petkov, Martin Minchev, Zdravko Dimitrov

Starting XI: Ugurcan Cakir (gk); Ferdi Kadioglu, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Merih Demiral, Zeki Celik; Orkun Kokcu, Hakan Calhanoglu; Kenan Yildiz, Arda Guler, Oguz Aydin; Kerem Akturkoglu

Bench: Altay Bayindir (gk), Mert Gunok (gk), Caglar Soyuncu, Mert Muldur, Samet Akaydin, Can Uzun, Ismail Yuksek, Irrfan Kahveci, Salih Ozcan, Deniz Gul, Yunus Akgun

Last Five Matches:

• Turkiye 4-0 Bulgaria (Friendly, 2015)

• Bulgaria 0-2 Turkiye (Friendly, 2012)

Bulgaria: 🔴L ⚫D 🔴L 🔴L 🔴L

Turkiye: 🟢W 🟢W 🔴L 🟢W 🔴L

Referee Luis Godinho blows his whistle, and the seventh round fixture is underway in Sofia! It's a cloudy night, and Bulgaria get the match rolling, knowing that anything short of a win will put their progression hopes in serious jeapardy. Stay tuned!

Turkiye have dominated the ball in the opening 10 minutes, with more than 80% possession. After a bit of stop-start beginning, the Red-Crescents saw the first big chance of the game fall their way. Kokcu made his way into the box after being found by Aydin, and has a shot from the edge the crossbar.

Moments after coming close through Kokcu, Turkiye get the breakthrough they have thoroughly deserved. It's Real Madrid prodigy Arda Guler who finishes past Mitov from close range after a good pick by Calhanoglu following excellent build-up play by the visitors.

What a response from Bulgaria! Less than two minutes after falling behind, they have levelled the scores again Through Kirilov, who found the back of the net with a composed finish from the edge of the box. Credit must also go to Despodov for an inch-perfect cross from the right flank. The match is on!!

The game has settled down a little bit since the flash beginning, with the strikers struggling to break the offside trap. However, Turkiye still have more than three-fourths of ball possession in the match, and with thrice the number of shots. Kirilov, meanwhile, almost flipped the script with a close-range shot after a solo run that went wide of the post.

Turkiye players are taking more time on the ball now, trying to convert their ball dominance into clear cut chances - which are still at a premium so far. Both Chochev and Calhanoglu had half-chances, but neither player was able to trouble the opposing goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, Bozhinov earned the first yellow card of the game for a rash tackle, with Kirilov joining him later.

After four minutes of stoppage time, the referee blows his whistle to bring the first half to an end. It was a superb start to the contest, with both sides scoring within two minutes of each other in the first quarter. Since then, however, it has been a rather cagey affair, with Turkiye unable to convert their domination of the posession into goals. A big second half awaits.

Both sets of players are out on the pitch, and the second half is underway with the scores still tied at 1-1. Will we see another fast start like we saw in the first half? Stay tuned!

Absolute calamity at the back for Bulgaria, as Popov forces the ball into the back of his own net after pressure from Turkiye. Calhanoglu attempted to find Guler with a long ball, but Popov, attempting to put it over the bar, instead put it over his goalkeeper into his own goal.

Yildiz doubles Turkiye's advantage in just two minutes after Popov's own goal. After an excellent build-up play from inside their own half, Calhanoglu and Guler linked up well in front of the box before the latter found Yildiz, who beat Mitov with a calm finish.

What is going on at the back for Bulgaria? Five minutes after his opener, Yildiz doubles his tally for the night with another composed finish from the left corner of the penalty area after being played by Calhanoglu.

The Juventus youngster ran cut inside and found the back of the net - he is clearly enjoying it out there, and Turkiye are running away with this match.

It's going from bad to worse for Bulgaria at the moment. With the intensity of the match being so high, Turkiye and Bulgaria opted for fresh legs, making a double and triple change, respectively.

Minutes later, Celik further increases Turkey's advantage, meeting Guler's corner with a bullet header that gave Mitov absolutely no chance.

A double change for Bulgaria, with Lukas Petkov and Filip Krastev coming on, replacing Kirilov and Chochev. Time is running out for Bulgaria to at least get a consolation goal in the match, with Turkiye still dominating almost 80% of the ball as well as the other stats. Will this match signal the end of Bulgaria's World Cup dreams?

Turkiye know that they have a big match against Georgia three days later, and they have wisely dropped the tempo of their game, having accrued a four-goal lead. That lead could easily have been five after Bardakci put the ball into the back of the net, but he was adjudged to be offside. Bulgaria, for their part, seem have given up any hopes of a consolation goal.

Turkey cap off what has been a brilliant performance with a late goal. It's route one stuff from the visitors - with Cakir's goalkick finding Aydin in the box. The winger laid it off to Kahveci, who made no mistake with his finish from close range to beat Mitov.

Kahveci's goal was the final action in what has been an utterly one-sided game. After a fiery start gave way to a tied first-half, Turkiye came out with renewed vigour and shipped five goals past Mitov to take home a big win.