Bulgaria, Denmark draw 1-1 in WCup qualifier

(AP Photo/ Valentina Petrova)

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) Ten-man Bulgaria was held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Denmark in their qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup on Friday.

Dimitar Rangelov put Bulgaria ahead in the seventh minute, heading the ball past goalkeeper Stephan Andersen after a cross from Ivan Bandalovski.

The home team kept pressing in an attempt to extend its advantage, but was seriously weakened when right back Ivan Bandalovski was shown a straight red card in the 25th minute for a professional foul.

The equalizer came in the 40th minute, when Nicklas Bendtner took a pass from Michael Krohn-Dehli and found the back of the net with a header from inside the box.

Denmark used its advantage in the second half to create several chances, including a couple of one-on-one situations with Bulgaria goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, who made several good saves to preserve the result.

Christian Eriksen could have given the visitors the lead in the 78th minute following a Bulgarian defensive error, but the goalie blocked his shot from close range.

Bulgaria's best effort in the second half came 15 minutes from time, but Andersen was in the right place to clear Stanislav Manolev's shot from the edge of the box.

Bulgaria is second in Group B with five points, two behind group leader Italy. Denmark has two points in two games.

Updated October 12, 2012