 In October 2012, following a long absence from international duty, he was recalled to the national side by manager Luboslav Penev for two 2014 World Cup qualifiers – against Denmark and the Czech Republic, but remained an unused substitute in these games.In February 2015, following the refusal of a number of Bulgarian and foreign clubs to release players for national team duty, Venkov again became part of the roster, being called up by new manager Ivaylo Petev to participate in a non-official friendly match against Romania.On 7 February, he played over the course of the whole second half of the match that ended in a 0