Bulgaria v Northern Ireland, 18 October 1972
| Score | 3-0 to Bulgaria |
| Referee | Gerhard Schulenburg |
| Competition | FIFA World Cup Group 6 |
| Venue | Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia |
| Attendance | 40,000 |
View Bulgaria v Northern Ireland head to head
3
Bulgaria
Goals:
| Hristo Bonev | penalty | 18 |
|
| Bozhil Kolev | 59 |
|
|
| Hristo Bonev | penalty | 82 |
|
Starting lineup:
Goalkeeper
Iordan Filipov
Defender
Bozhil Kolev
Defender
Dimitar Penev
Defender
Mladen Vasilev
Defender
Ivan Zafirov
Midfielder
Georgi Denev
Midfielder
Viktor Ionov
Midfielder
Ivan Stoyanov
Forward
Hristo Bonev
Substitutions:
| Georgy Tsvetkov for Bogomil Simov | 69 |
Cards:
| Hristo Bonev | Y | |
| Ivan Stoyanov | Y | |
| Bogomil Simov | Y |
On the bench:
Midfielder
Georgy Tsvetkov
0
Northern Ireland
Manager: Terry Neill
Goals:
Starting lineup:
Pat Jennings
Goalkeeper
Allan Hunter
Defender
Terry Neill
Defender
Sammy Nelson
Defender
Pat Rice
Defender
David Clements
Midfielder
Bryan Hamilton
Midfielder
Danny Hegan
Midfielder
Eric McMordie
Midfielder
George Best
Midfielder/Forward
Derek Dougan
Forward
Substitutions:
| Sammy Morgan for Bryan Hamilton | 62 |
Cards:
| Sammy Nelson | Y | |
| Pat Rice | Y | |
| Allan Hunter | Y | |
| George Best | 82 | R |
On the bench:
Forward
Sammy Morgan