Bosnia and Herzegovina will face the strong national team of Belgium tomorrow in regard to the European Championship 2016 qualifications. The match will take place in the city of Brussels in Belgium. Without a doubt, this match can be considered as an important one for the Bosnian side. BiH currently holds the penultimate place in Group B with 8 points but still has a decent chance to qualify. A win would bring BiH next to Belgium in the group although the goal difference is clearly in favor of the Belgians. Wales is currently at the top of Group B with 14 points followed by Belgium (11 points), Israel (9 points), Cyprus (9 points), BiH (8 points) while Andorra (0 points) ranks last.
Prior to tomorrow’s match, both teams have faced each other five times which led to three wins for BiH, one draw and one victory for the Belgians. Although historical statistics do not guarantee any success in the future, BiH’s track record against Belgium can be considered as positive and therefore hopeful.
At the press conference on the 24th of August, BiH’s head coach Mehmed Bazdarevic announced the 24 eligible players for the two matches against Belgium and Andorra while he also stated: “we will set up a good team and score. We are not afraid and we will try to beat them despite the fact that they have a good team.” Following the words of Bazdarevic, the nations’s hope is pinned on Edin Dzeko who recently left Manchester City and signed at AS Roma in Italy. The stats of Dzeko concerning the national team are impressive with 42 goals out of 72 caps. This provided the current captain the status of all-time top scorer in BiH’s football history.
On the contrary, the Dragons should be warned by the contemporary quality of the Belgian squad. Belgium is the current number two of the world according to the FIFA ranking. The great majority of players are weekly showing their skills in the European top leagues playing for top clubs. With numerous key players like Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Thibaut Courtois and Kevin de Bruyne, the current squad can be considered as the most talented in years. At the same time, pressure is high for the ‘Red Devils’ as they have not been present at a European Championship since 2000. However, if Belgium is able to seize victory, it would be a great step towards qualification as it increases the gap with BiH to 6 points.
The last encounter in Zenica in 2014 ended in 1-1 with Edin Dzeko and Radja Nainggolan as goal scorers. Tomorrow’s match at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels is completely sold out which will undoubtedly create a great atmosphere in which both teams will give their best to grasp the three points. But the strong Belgians playing at home will definitely be a tough nut to crack and looking ahead to tomorrow’s match, a draw would be a good result for the Dragons. In the remaining matches for qualification, BiH should be able to beat the other opponents in Group B and secure their place in the top three that will provide either automatic qualification or the opportunity to compete in the play-offs.
Written by Dustin Giel
