Bulgaria's Popov plans Wembley memories

London (AFP) – Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov plans to add a personal touch to his collection of Wembley memorabilia when his side face England on Saturday.

Popov owns the shirt of the only Bulgaria international to score at the English national stadium after buying Georgi Asparuhov’s shirt at an auction.

Asparuhov netted in a 1-1 draw with England in 1968 and Popov is dreaming of following in his footsteps in this weekend’s Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley.

The Rostov striker was also part of the Bulgaria team who were defeated 4-0 at Wembley in a Euro 2012 qualifier nine years ago.

“It is every player’s dream, everyone wants to score at Wembley, I bought the shirt at an auction and it is mine,” he told reporters on Friday.

Popov believes England are one of the top two sides in the world, but the skipper has spoken with his team-mates about the inspiration that playing at Wembley can provide.

“The main difference (from the previous game) is that nine years ago they were in the world’s top 10, now they are in the world’s top two,” Popov said.

“So this says a lot about the way of their philosophy and the way people have been working and you can see the results speak for themselves.

“There have been conversations, playing at Wembley is a great opportunity, if you play well at Wembley good things can happen.

“I remember well at 2-0 we had a couple of chances, one for myself, but we missed them. It was 4-0 with Jermain Defoe scoring a hat-trick.”