体坛英语新闻：Bulgaria's Ludogorets move in Europa League knockout phase

SOFIA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's PFC Ludogorets here on Thursday secured a place in the round of 32 at UEFA Europa League after drawing 1-1 with FC Chornomorets Odesa of Ukraine.

Juninho Quixada put Ludogorets ahead in the 47th minute after a swift counterattack, but Olexiy Gai equalized with a header in the 64th minute.

Two matchdays before the end of the group stage, the Bulgaria team tops the standings in Group B with 10 points, followed by the Dutch PSV Eindhoven with seven points. Chornomorets, with four points, still has a chance to supplant PSV from the second place, while Dinamo Zagreb is the last in the group with only one point.

Earlier in the autumn, Ludogorets recorded three victories in a row beating PSV in Eindhoven 2-0, Dinamo in Sofia 3-0 and Chornomorets in Odesa 1-0.

Ludogorets was Bulgaria's champion in the last two seasons, but from its establishment in 1945 to 2011, the team had participated in lower divisions of the Bulgarian football.