They’re hardly a household name, but Bosnia and Herzegovina is shaping as the surprise packets in their maiden World Cup appearance in Brazil.
Regardless of their relative anonymity and lack of experience on football’s biggest stage, anything but an appearance in the competitions knockout stages will be considered a failure.
The fortunes of a football-mad nation will predominately rest on the shoulders of the nation’s hero – Edin Džeko.
The Manchester City striker is arguably one of the most in-form strikers in world football presently, enjoying a stellar period for both club and country.
Chelsea manager José Mourinho echoed this view when he touted Džeko as his choice for English Premier League ‘Player of the Year’ after helping to catapult City to the league title. Eight of his 16 goals for the season came in the Sky Blues’ last 10 fixtures.
The 28-year-old Džeko also played a major role in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s quest for World Cup salvation earlier in their qualifying campaign, netting 10 of his team’s 30 goals to edge out Greece for top spot in Group F on goal difference.
DZEKO DOUBLE: @EdDzeko scores twice in Bosnia win plus full international round-up http://t.co/WoczR1SSSn #mcfc pic.twitter.com/Ax2HyZOdKZ
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) May 31, 2014
A reasonably manageable group draw – where they have been paired with South American juggernauts Argentina, African side Nigeria and Asian outfit Iran in Group F – also did little to hinder the Dragons’ chances in Brazil.
The weight of expectation won’t rest entirely on Džeko’s more-than-capable shoulders, though, with the forward supported by a brigade of seasoned regulars.
Vedad Ibišević (Stuttgart), Miralem Pjanić (Roma), Asmir Begović (Stoke), Emir Spahić (Bayer Levekusen) and Senad Lulić (Luzio) all boast European club experience, while co-captain Zvjezdan Misimović played a part in Wolfburg’s unlikely Bundesliga title victory in 2008/2009, before relocating to Guizhour Renhe in China to further his playing days.
It is the question of depth amongst the younger portion of Bosnia’s squad that still remains untested on the big stage (fifth least capped (606) in the World Cup) and may prove their undoing.
Whether a team based in Sarajevo can handle the sweltering heat of Rio De Janiero is another issue altogether.
As shown in the qualification stages, manager Safet Sušić has placed a great premium on his side’s attacking flair going forward.
No one will want to play them in Brazil.
But in the crucible that is the World Cup, attacking flair is no substitute for defensive practicality and may ultimately leave his back four vulnerable.
Needless to say – balance will be key.
A quasi 4-4-2 diamond looks the formation of choice for Sušic, with Ibišević partnering Džeko up front, Misimović just in behind, Pjanić on the right, Lulić on the left and Haris Medunjanin holding in front of the back four.
Sušić may revert to a more stable 4-2-3-1 formation, with Džeko operating as the lone striker, in the Dragons’ crucial opener against Argentina. And if recent form is anything to go on – with friendly wins over the Ivory Coast (2-1) and Mexico (1-0) last week – Bosnia and Herzegovina will give the South American’s a run for their peso.
However a 2-0 friendly loss to the Argentineans in November must be learned from in order to do so.
Should Sušić’s men negotiate Group F, a round of 16 matchup with Group E’s Switzerland or France looms – Ecuador the notable outlier.
However Bosnia and Stoke shot-stopper Asmir Begović told The Guardian that the squad’s first concern was the group stage.
“We are in a difficult group… being realistic we were never going to get an easy [game],” Begović said.
“There are three very different teams and styles of play in our group, so we are going to have to be ready each time and prepared for what to expect. But it is a World Cup, you can only expect tough games.”
However Begovic admitted he and his squad harboured humble aspirations in their World Cup debut.
“We want to perform well, get out of the group and post a few good results,” he continued. “To reach the knockout stages is obviously the dream scenario and then anything can happen.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina isn’t at Brazil to go through the motions and go home content; they’re deadly serious and are planning to make a name for themselves on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Callum Godde is a third-year Journalism (sport) student at La Trobe University. You can follow him on Twitter: @Calgodde.
