Bulgaria fight for survival

8216;8216;It was a disastrous result for us,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;But we have to pick ourselves up and show that Bulgaria can really play football well when we play against Denmark. Coach Plamen Markov has two injury worries going into the first meeting of the teams at a major event, midfielders Velizar Dimitrov, who has been receiving treatment for a calf strain and Marian Hristov, who has an ankle problem. Both players should be fit, however, with Markov8217;s only change likely to be the introduction of Velizar Dimitrov, in an attacking role supporting Berbatov, as replacement for striker Zoran Jankovich.

Bulgaria8217;s preparations for the Denmark clash were not helped by reports of an alleged dressing-room punch-up following the Sweden game. These claims were denied by the players who said they had held clear-the-air team talks and chosen not to watch a video of their performance.

While the Bulgarians licked their wounds, Denmark were looking ahead with confidence after holding the fancied Italians to a 0-0 draw. Coach Morten Olsen will be boosted by the return of winger Jesper Gronkjaer, who may challenge Dennis Rommedahl for an attacking role on the left flank.

The dependable Thomas Gravesen, unavailable for the Italy game due to suspension, may also return in midfield, leaving Christian Poulsen and Daniel Jensen to scrap for the other place.

Both teams are rebuilding 12 and 10 years on respectively from their most memorable soccer achievements. In 1992, Denmark won the European Championship and in 1994 Bulgaria reached the World Cup semi-finals.

Reuters