Dignitaries from all over the world will gather in Brazil in early December for the FIFA World Cup draw as the field of teams is divided into groups for next summer’s festivities. As part of its “32 teams in 32 days” series, SPORTSNET.CA will profile each of the nations set to compete at Brazil, leading up the draw on Dec. 6.
Every four years, brand new members are welcomed into the World Cup fraternity. In 2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be among those nations making their World Cup debut. It’s been a long and arduous road for the Bosnians to get here. After gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1992, the Zmajevi (Dragons) weren’t allowed to take part in the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup as the country was not yet a member of FIFA due to the ongoing Bosnian War. Admittance to FIFA was finally granted in 1996 and years of hard slogging led to genuine progress, with Bosnia losing to Portugal in the qualification playoffs for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. Now the Dragons are off to their first major tournament, and will head to Brazil with the intention of making more history.
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How they got here: One word: consistency. The Bosnians barely put a foot wrong in the qualifiers, winning eight of their 10 matches in Group G with only a single loss. They took care of the minnows (Lichtenstein and Latvia), split two games against Slovakia and took four of six points from Greece.
Key result: A 1-0 road win over Lithuania on the final day of the group stage allowed Bosnia to finish first in the group and clinch an automatic World Cup berth. But it was a 3-1 win over Greece in Zenica at the midway point of the campaign that pushed the Bosnians into front-runner’s position. Bosnia never relinquished the group lead after that, and went on to edge out Greece for first place.
Star player: Edin Dzeko has to fight for playing time with Manchester City, such is the Blues’ depth of world-class talent, But for Bosnia, the forward is the chief producer of goals – he bagged 10 in the qualifiers, second only to Robin van Persie (11) in UEFA. It’s hard to imagine where Bosnia would be without the talismanic Dzeko who, at 27, is in the prime of his career.
Player on the bubble: Right fullback Mensur Mujdza was a semi-regular starter for Bosnia under manager Safet Susic in the qualifiers, before eventually losing his place. He wasn’t even called up for the team’s last few games, so he needs to have a strong season at Freiburg in the Bundesliga to regain Susic’s faith.
Team strengths: Bosnia won its qualifying group on the strength of an awesome attack that produced 30 goals – only Germany, Holland and England scored more often in the European qualifiers. Edin Dzeko and fellow forward Vedad Ibisevic, who combined for 18 goals, provide a dangerous one-two scoring punch.
What they have to work on: Bosnia needs to be a bit more direct in its play in the final third. Too often, Bosnia is too cute for its own good, and tries to walk the ball into the net. Intricate passing sequences have their place, but they’re less effective when your opponents park everybody behind the ball. In those instances, the Bosnians have to come up with an effective Plan B.
Team profiles: Algeria | Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Cameroon | Chile | Costa Rica | Colombia | Croatia | Ecuador | England| Germany | Ghana | Greece | Honduras | Iran | Italy | Ivory Coast | Japan | Mexico | The Netherlands | Nigeria | Portugal | Russia | South Korea | Spain | Switzerland | United States | Uruguay