Bulgaria playing for pride against Denmark

Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov is determined to prove that his team are not doomed to be cast as Euro 2004 failures when he leads their fight for Group C survival against Denmark in Braga today.

The 23-year-old is one of the most highly rated young forwards in Europe, scoring 19 goals in 30 appearances for Bulgaria before their 5-0 thrashing by Sweden on Monday.

"It was a disastrous result for us," he said. "But we have to pick ourselves up and show that Bulgaria can really play football well when we play against Denmark."

The defeat by Sweden was Bulgaria's worst since they were beaten 6-0 by the Czech Republic in a World Cup qualifier in 2001.

Coach Plamen Markov's only change is likely to be the introduction of Velizar Dimitrov, in an attacking role supporting Berbatov.

Berbatov, part of the B. Leverkusen squad that reached the 2002 European Cup final, will lead the line while the midfield is reshaped to avoid another collapse.

Bulgaria's preparations for the Denmark clash were not helped by reports of an alleged dressing-room punch-up following the Sweden game.

These claims were denied by the players who said they had held clear-the-air team talks and chosen not to watch a video of their performance.

While the Bulgarians licked their wounds, Denmark were looking ahead with confidence after holding the Italians to a 0-0 draw.

Coach Morten Olsen will be boosted by the return of Jesper Gronkjaer, who may challenge Dennis Rommedahl for an attacking role on the left flank.

The dependable Thomas Gravesen, unavailable for the Italy game due to suspension, may also return in midfield, leaving Christian Poulsen and Daniel Jensen to scrap for the other place.

Both teams are rebuilding 12 and 10 years on respectively from their most memorable achievements. In 1992, Denmark won the European Championship and in 1994 Bulgaria reached the World Cup semi-finals.

Probable teams

Bulgaria: Zdravkov; Ivanov, Kirilov, Pajin, Petkov; Peev, S. Petrov, Hristov, M. Petrov, Dimitrov; Berbatov.

Denmark: Sorensen; Helveg, Laursen, Henriksen, Jensen; Grave-sen, Poulsen, Tomasson; Jorgensen, Sand, Rommedahl (Gronkjaer).

Referee: Lucillo Batista (Portugal).

On TV: RaiUno - 6 p.m.