Northern Ireland v Bosnia

SCOUTING REPORT

Andy Greeves takes a closer look at Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of this afternoon’s UEFA Nations League encounter. LOWDOWN This is Robert Prosinečki’s first competitive fixture in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Croatian legend having replaced Mehmed Baždarević as the national team’s head coach at the start of the year. The Golden Lilies have won two of their six friendlies in 2018, drawing three and losing just one game - to Mexico back in February. Prosinečki is without Sead Kolašinac for this match, with the Arsenal defender having suffered a knee injury in a pre-season encounter with Chelsea in Dublin last month. Meanwhile, long-serving players such as Emir Spahić, Zvjezdan Misimović, Haris Medunjanin and Vedad Ibišević all announced their retirement from international football earlier in the year.

TACTICS Prosinečki has favoured the use of a 4-3-3 formation during his time as Bosnia and Herzegovina manager so far, however it appears more like a 4-2-3-1 in practice. The Golden Lilies are keen to play out from the back and favour a neat brand of passing football. Bosnia and Herzegovina are hugely dependent on Miralem Pjanić, who is the midfield heartbeat of the side. Aside from being an excellent passer of the ball, the Juventus man takes the majority of the team’s free-kicks and weighs in with important goals. He has netted 12 times in 79 internationals to date. Defensive-minded midfielders such as Muhamed Bešić and Gojko Cimirot give Pjanić the licence to support attacking moves while the likes of Edin Višća and Haris Duljević operate in wide areas.

STRENGTHS Pjanić has the ability to dictate a game and has a real eye for a killer pass. Last season he made 14 assists in 44 appearances for Juventus in all competitions, scoring seven times himself. Captain Edin Džeko is the focal point of the team’s attacks, with the Roma player having scored 52 times in 93 appearances for Bosnia and Herzegovina to date. POSSIBLE LINE-UP GK Ibrahim Sehic, RB Darko Todorović, CB Toni Šunjić, CB Ervin Zukanović, LB Eldar Ćivić, DM Gojko Cimirot, DMMuhamed Bešić, RM Edin Višća, CMMiralem Pjanić, LM Haris Duljević, FW Edin Džeko. Many thanks to journalist Sasa Ibrulj for his assistance in the writing of this article.