Iceland vs Bulgaria — match summary
Europe · UEFA Nations League · kick-off 3 Oct 2026 23:00
Full time · score 3-0
pPS pre-match readiness (0-100): Iceland 36 · Bulgaria 18
mPS in-play performance (0-100): Iceland 64 · Bulgaria 35
Shots on target 6-3 · corners 9-1 · possession 51-49
NextGOAL tip: Bulgaria +1.25 · 2 stars
Iceland and Bulgaria met recently in the Nations League in September, and both of those matches ended in Bulgaria wins (3-2 and 3-1). This time the venue shifts to Laugardalsvöllur, which is a different story from last time, because Iceland just closed out their latest match in this competition with a 3-0 win. Iceland came through a friendly spell with two straight defeats before returning to go unbeaten in two Nations League matches, while Bulgaria also avoided defeat in their latest match, but it was a 0-0 draw with the attack still quiet, and they have now gone several matches without a win. On the personnel side, Iceland are likely to field Andri Gudjohnsen and Orri Steinn Oskarsson together in a 4-4-2, while Bulgaria set up in a 4-3-3 with Ilia Gruev dictating in midfield. The pattern of play should see Iceland with more of the ball, based on the stats over the last 10 matches at 52.6% compared to Bulgaria's 36.8%, but the first half of both teams' games tends to have goals throughout. Iceland at home have scored in the first half in every match, and Bulgaria away are the same, so the game could open up with exchanges from the start, then gradually shift to Iceland pushing higher and applying more pressure in the second half, while Bulgaria drop deeper and wait for counter-attacking moments.