The Georgian national football team finished the World Cup qualifying stage with a loss to Bulgaria. Willy Sagnol’s team played the sixth and final match at the “Vasil Levski” Stadium in Sofia, losing 1–2.
In the 10th minute, Bulgarian striker Georgi Rusev opened the scoring, and in the 24th minute, Filip Krastev doubled the lead for the Bulgarian national team. In the 88th minute, defender Luka Lochoshvili reduced the visitors’ deficit, but it was not enough to change the outcome of the match.
Under Willy Sagnol’s leadership, Georgia finished the qualifying cycle in third place with 3 points. Bulgaria took fourth place. Spain secured first place in the group and a direct World Cup berth after drawing 2–2 with Turkey. The Turkish national team, which finished second, will attempt to qualify for the World Cup through the playoff matches.
At the post-match press conference, Georgia’s head coach Willy Sagnol stated:
“The past month has been much more difficult than I expected. The lineup changes from match to match, but the problems are more systemic. We have a shortage of personnel, and on top of that, there are mental difficulties — this prevents us from achieving results the country could be proud of.”
Sixteen European teams will participate in the World Cup. According to UEFA’s website, twelve group winners qualified directly for the final stage: Austria, England, Belgium, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, France, Croatia, Switzerland, and Scotland.
The remaining four spots will be contested in playoff matches. Twelve teams that finished second (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales, Czechia) will participate, along with four teams that qualified through the UEFA Nations League (Romania, Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Sweden).
The final stage of the World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, will be hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
