The football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina continues preparations for the match against Qatar in a positive atmosphere and with visible optimism in the Dragons’ camp. There are still two training sessions left before the match scheduled for Wednesday, and the coaching staff led by coach Sergej Barbarez is entering the final phase of preparations.
Unlike the previous practice, today’s training will be held behind closed doors. Barbarez decided that journalists would not be allowed access even during the usual first 15 minutes of training, which means that there were no media activities or statements by players and members of the coaching staff.
Practically, the stadium where the Dragons train was completely closed to the public.
Such a decision is not uncommon when it comes to final preparations for important matches. It is during these training sessions that the coaching staff works in detail on tactical ideas and final corrections in the game before the next opponent.
“We like to have this training for ourselves,” coach Barbarez used to say, emphasizing the importance of calmness and concentration in the moments when the last details are being finalized.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national team will train on Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. local time, or 6 p.m. Central European time.
After the last training session on Tuesday, the team will travel to Seattle, where they will face Qatar the following day. The match will be played on Wednesday at 12 p.m. local time, or 9 p.m. Bosnia and Herzegovina time.
The trip to Seattle will take about two hours and 50 minutes by plane, and the team will also have to adjust to the one-hour time difference.
The good news for the Dragons is that they will be greeted by slightly more pleasant weather conditions in Seattle than in Salt Lake City, where they are currently staying. While temperatures in Salt Lake City range between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius, Seattle is expected to be between 29 and 30 degrees, with a significantly cooler and more pleasant climate.
Such a difference is not surprising given the geographical location of the two cities. Seattle is located close to the Pacific Ocean, about 1,300 kilometers northwest of Salt Lake City, which is located in a much drier and warmer area of the American West.
Entering the end of the preparations, it is clear that the coaching staff does not want to leave anything to chance, and the closed training is the best indicator that the Bosnia and Herzegovina camp is working intensively on the plan for the next challenge at the World Cup.
