Solomons got spanked 10-2 by Bulgaria in their first FIFA Series match!!
No Bozhidar Kraev for Bulgaria, but looks like his younger brother started.
Lea'ai with both SI's goals. They should do better in their 2nd game verus Saint Kitts and Nevis. Series is in Indonesia.
Jon Herdman is the Indonesian coach, they beat Saint Kitts and Nevis 4-0.
https://us.soccerway.com/game/bulgaria-WEeqYLaT/solomon-islands-fF5OOS92/summary/lineups/?mid=CUmkyYJT
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/new-zealand-and-solomon-islands-both-suffer-fifa-series-defeats/
The Solomon Islands first match against European opposition has also ended in defeat, losing 10-2 to Bulgaria in their FIFA Series™ match at the Galora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
No Bozhidar Kraev for Bulgaria, but looks like his younger brother started.
Lea'ai with both SI's goals. They should do better in their 2nd game verus Saint Kitts and Nevis. Series is in Indonesia.
Jon Herdman is the Indonesian coach, they beat Saint Kitts and Nevis 4-0.
https://us.soccerway.com/game/bulgaria-WEeqYLaT/solomon-islands-fF5OOS92/summary/lineups/?mid=CUmkyYJT
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/new-zealand-and-solomon-islands-both-suffer-fifa-series-defeats/
The Solomon Islands first match against European opposition has also ended in defeat, losing 10-2 to Bulgaria in their FIFA Series™ match at the Galora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Two goals from Raphael Lea’i were bright moments on an otherwise chastening night, as new head coach Ben Cahn marked the start of his tenure in charge of the national team with a heavy defeat.
The Solomon Islands struggled to stem the flow of goals throughout, leaking five in either half – Vladimir Nikolov highlighting the scoring for Bulgaria with a hat-trick. Marin Petkov and Filip Krastev were the others to score more than once for Bulgaria, both grabbing a brace.
After conceding twice inside the first 13 minutes, Raphael Lea’i scored the first of his two goals for the Solomon Islands in the 29th minute from the penalty spot – halving the deficit and briefly giving the Melanesian side some hope.
Lea’i’s second goal in the 70th minute was arguably one of the best of the night – blasting a long range effort into the left-hand side of the net from outside the box to take his international goal-scoring tally to 14.
Petkov and Krastev both completed their doubles before the half-time break though, before Nikolov got in on the act with a hat-trick in the second half as Bulgaria cruised to their biggest win since 1968.
Whilst it isn’t a result they’ll look back fondly on, the contest provided invaluable experience for the Solomon Islands against European opposition.
They’ll return to action for their second FIFA Series match against St Kitts & Nevis at the same stadium on Monday night.
Solomon Islands: 2 (Raphael LEA’I (P) 29′, 70′)
Bulgaria: 10 (Marin PETKOV 5′, 45+2′, Tonislav YORDANOV (P) 13′, Filip KRASTEV 39′, 44′, Vladimir NIKOLOV 53′, 81′, 90+3′, Georgi RUSEV (P) 63′, Kristiyan BALOV 65′)
Bulgaria: 10 (Marin PETKOV 5′, 45+2′, Tonislav YORDANOV (P) 13′, Filip KRASTEV 39′, 44′, Vladimir NIKOLOV 53′, 81′, 90+3′, Georgi RUSEV (P) 63′, Kristiyan BALOV 65′)
HT: 1-5