He started to make his name two years later when he scored six goals in 30 league games and was called to the Bulgarian national team by then coach Hristo Stoichkov.

[2] On 8 January 2010, Yankov joined Ukrainian Premier League club Metalurh Donetsk on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

[5] In July 2012, Yankov signed as a free agent for his boyhood club Slavia Sofia on a one-year contract.

On 13 October 2004, he scored his first goal for Bulgaria in a 4–1 win against Malta as part of the World Cup 2006 qualification campaign.

On 12 October 2010, in the absence of Stilian Petrov, he captained the side for the first time in the 2–0 win against Saudi Arabia in a friendly match.