Tonight, the BiH national football team will play against Italy at the “Bilino Polje” stadium in Zenica (8:45 p.m.) in the final playoff match for this year’s World Cup in Canada, the United States of America and Mexico, and the winner will fill Group B, which already includes Switzerland, Canada and Qatar.
BiH coach Sergej Barbarez in the announcement of this match pointed out that she emotionally brings back to the playing days and to the meeting in Koševo against Denmark in 2003, when only one goal separated us from qualifying for Euro 2004, but Bosnia and Herzegovina the football players then probably entered the game too emotionally and failed to win. The national team he now leads, as he says, will certainly not make the same mistake.
That was probably a minus for us we could not recover. It is certain that we will not enter the game against Italy that way. This game is as important to Italy as it is to us, because playing in the World Cup is never a small thing, but we have to be aware that after the game we will go back to everyday life and continue our livesBarbarez said.
He emphasized that one of the goals of the professional staff was to the team prepares well physicallywhich they showed in the semi-final against Wales, which was decided only after extra time and penalties. The match ended 1:1 in the regular part and after extra time, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. the team showed greater calmness and courage in the execution of penalty kicks.
We saw some players against Wales tormented by crampsbut they didn’t want to give up, so the mental moment is also very important in all of this, which this team certainly doesn’t lacksaid Barbarez.
He added that he is completely focused on the preparation of his team and that he is not interested in what others say.
Captain of the BiH national team Edin Dzeko he also does not see a problem in the reactions of the Italian football players, that is, in the celebration of some of them after they found out that they will play against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final. He believes that it is a normal reaction of every athlete who has certain preferences.
Sometimes should be smarterbecause we know how social networks work today, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t see a problem in their reaction… Italy knows who they’re playing against and they’ll prepare well, they certainly won’t underestimate us. They know we have quality and it won’t be easy for them. I hope that we will be at our highest level and achieve victorysaid Dzeko.
He also mentioned that he played with a large number of Italian national team players and that there is no doubt how well they analyzed the BiH game.
Selector of Italy Gennaro Gattusowho only took his players for a leisurely walk on the field in Zenica last night, pointed out that they feel similar to how they felt before last week’s game in Bergamo, where they beat Northern Ireland 2:0 and won their third consecutive playoff. In the previous two, they were eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia.
We are aware that we are playing against a physically very prepared team, with quality and experienced players. We need her the support of the whole of Italy to realize our dream and qualify for the World Championship. I hope we will not disappoint. In the history of our national team, even when we were not the best, we knew how to achieve good resultsGattuso said.
When asked about the fear of another failure, he said that football players and coaches can make mistakes, but told the players to give their best. He also believes that the stories about the bad terrain on Bila’s field are just an excuse.
As for the field, it can pass. I was recently in this area as a coach of Hajduk and we played on much worse pitches. I think it’s just an alibi. If the field is bad for us, it is bad for the opponent. Need to play, Gattuso said.
He also emphasized his great respect for Sergej Barbarez, Edin Dzeka and the entire B&H. national team, but he does not want to think about a possible failure, which would be a big blow for Italian football. Italy has not participated in the last two World Cups, so missing out for the third time in a row would be a huge setback.
Captain and first goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who played many important matches for the national team and clubs, ranked this match among the most important in his career.
Perhaps the most important. Like people we have emotions and fear of failurebut we don’t want to think about it. All energy must be focused on the match. We have to be as concentrated as possible. We know it will be difficult, but we have to be firm because that’s the only way we can achieve the desired result, Donnarumma said.
Greater pressure will be on the guests, as Barbarez also pointed out, because a third consecutive missed World Cup would be unthinkable. Although they won the European Championship in England in 2021, the failures at the World Cups fueled talk of a “systemic error”.
Namely, after they became world champions in Germany in 2006, they did not make it past the group in the next two championships. Thus, in 2010 in the Republic of South Africa with two points they were last in the group with Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand, and in 2014 in Brazil with three points they were third in the group with Costa Rica, Uruguay and England. It was in Brazil that Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in a major competition for the only time, and with three points they were third in the group with Argentina, Nigeria and Iran.
In the past six meetings between each other BiH has only one victory – in a friendly match in November 1996 in Koševo (2:1). In the last mutual meeting, also a friendly, Italy won 1:0 almost two years ago in Empoli.
In the qualifiers for Euro 2020, Italy won 2:1 at home and 3:0 in Zenica in 2019, and a year later in the League of Nations, after 1:1 in Italy, they also won 2:0 in Sarajevo.
Due to the penalty of the Football Association of BiH, the stadium “Bilino Polje” tonight it will not be fulland around 9,000 spectators will be able to follow the match. The match will be refereed by the French Clément Turpin.
Possible lineups:
BiH: Vasilj, Dedić, Katic, Muharemović, Kolašinac, Bajraktarević, Šunjić, Alajbegović, Memic, Demirović, Džeko.
Italy: Donnarumma, Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori, Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco, Kean, Retegui.
(hair dryer)
