The Republic of Ireland beat Bulgaria 2-1 Thursday night in the first leg of the UEFA Nations League playoffs in Plovdiv. The second leg will take place on Sunday at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. The home side opened the scoring in the 6th minute through Lukas Petkov, but the visitors replied with goals from Finn Azaz (21st minute) and Matt Doherty (42nd). At stake for the Irish is avoiding relegation from League B to League C, as manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has said he would prefer the better standard of opposition as the squad prepares for its World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Republic of Ireland team was: Caoimhin Kelleher; Matt Doherty, Dara O'Shea, Nathan Collins (capt), Ryan Manning (Jake O’Brien 79); Mikey Johnston (Mark Sykes 76), Josh Cullen, Finn Azaz (Jack Taylor 76), Jason Knight (Rocco Vata 79), Robbie Brady; Troy Parrott (Evan Ferguson 76).
