Bulgaria ended its disastrous World Cup campaign with a comfortable 6-2 thumping of outsiders Georgia on October 14 2009 at the Vassil Levski stadium in Sofia. Unfortunately, that came a little too late and the depressing sight of empty terraces spoke volumes of what the Bulgarian fans though of it all.

Skipper Dimitar Berbatov netted a hat trick, which took him within two goals from all-time national team leading goalscorer Hristo Bonev, but the Manchester United, who often struggled to make an impact during the qualifying matches, was pessimistic about the national team's prospects.

"We cant score six goals in one match, and suddenly think we've resolved our problems. I have always been optimistic, but I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. We are plagued by a legion of problems, which cannot be resolved by one man," he was quoted as saying by Dnevnik daily on October 15.

Berbatov blamed the poor state of the Bulgarian league, saying that was the main reason why no one should expect the performances of the national side to improve any time soon.

"Several days ago, I went to watch a CSKA Sofia match, and I nearly fell asleep. The harsh reality of the situation is that, this is our current potential at this time. We will carry on struggling, there is nothing else to do. The rest is just analysis," he said.

Bulgaria finished third in its World Cup qualifying group with 14 points, 10 behind group winners Italy and four behind runners-up Ireland.

Cyprus, who battered Bulgaria 4-1 on October 10, finished fourth with nine points. With his hat trick against Georgia, Berbatov has netted a tally of 46 goals in 73 appearances for the national team over the past decade.