QUALIFICATION HISTORY
1998 World Cup finals: Did not qualify - finished fourth.
2000 European Championship finals: Did not qualify - finished third.
2002 World Cup finals: Did not qualify - finished fourth.
2004 European Championship finals: Did not qualify - finished fourth.
2006 World Cup finals: Did not qualify - finished third.
2008 European Championship finals: Did not qualify - finished fourth.
2010 World Cup finals: Did not qualify - finished second, but lost play-off to Portugal (2-0 on aggregate).
2012 European Championship finals: Did not qualify - finished second, but lost play-off to Portugal (6-2 on aggregate).
2014 World Cup finals: Qualified - finished in top spot.
HOW THEY REACHED THE EURO 2016 PLAY-OFFS
Bosnia-Herzegovina seemed to be suffering the classic post-World Cup finals blues when the Euro 2016 action got underway in the autumn of 2014. They lost at home to Cyprus (1-2) in their opener and could only manage a scoreless draw away to Wales. Despite leading the side to the World Cup finals in Brazil a few months earlier, manager Safet Susic lost his job after Bosnia crashed to a 3-0 defeat in Israel last November.
His successor Mehmed Bazdarevic, also a Bosnian native, took the reins, but qualification - or even a play-off berth - looked beyond them. But their good home form returned, with wins over Belgium, Israel and Wales, and they showed strong resolve to sneak into the play-offs when they gained revenge against Cyprus (2-3) in Nicosia in their last game in Group B. They are on a three-match winning streak entering the play-offs.
GROUP B RESULTS
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-2 Cyprus; Wales 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina; Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Belgium; Israel 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina; Andorra 0-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina; Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 Israel; Belgium 3-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina; Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 Andorra; Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 Wales; Cyprus 2-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina.
BREAKING DOWN GROUP B
Goals scored: 17 total
Goals scored from open play: 14
Goals scored from inside the box: 13
Goals scored from headers: 6
Goals from set-pieces: 3 (including one penalty)
Goals conceded: 12 total
Goals conceded from open play: 9
Goals conceded inside the box: 8
Goals conceded from headers: 2
Goals conceded from set-pieces: 3 (including one penalty)
POTTED HISTORY
When Bosnia qualified for last year’s World Cup finals in Brazil, their first-ever successful qualification campaign since joining Fifa in 1996, an estimated 50,000 people celebrated on the streets of Sarajevo.
But not everyone in Bosnia supports the national team, as there are still ethnic divisions in the region. For instance, the proud identity of Bosnian Premier League club Borac Banja Luka is Bosnian Serb and their fans would hold a healthy ambivalence towards the national team. Each domestic club has their own ethnic identity. Current league leaders Zrinjski Mostar is Croatian, while Sarajevo would be largely Bosniak.
During last year’s World Cup finals, Bosnian Croats supported Croatia and burned Bosnian flags after games. Likewise, Bosnia fans burned Croatia flags. Since they became affiliated to Fifa in 1996 and Uefa in 1998, the Bosnian national team hasn’t had a unifying impact on the country.
FORM LINE
D, D, L, W, D, W, L, W, W, W
KEY MEN
Miralem Pjanic (Roma)
The midfield playmaker is the man who makes Bosnia tick. Raised in Luxembourg, where he played for their youth sides, Pjanic orchestrates most of Bosnia's attacking play and, although he hasn’t scored in the Euro Qualifiers to date (he has three assists), the 25-year-old is extremely dangerous from free-ticks just outside the opposition box. He is also Roma’s midfield kingpin and hasn’t many weaknesses in his game. Everything flows through the 'Little Prince' - and he is ultra competitive. He’s made more tackles than any other Roma player this season and has bagged five goals - all but one from free-kicks - and has claimed five assists.
Edin Dzeko (Roma)
Now 29, the former Manchester City striker was struggling for form earlier this season, but appears to be nearing his best in recent weeks upon winning back his starting place at Roma after a knee injury hampered his progress. He got on the scoresheet in Roma’s Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen and scored in last Sunday’s Rome derby, which Roma won 2-0. Bosnia’s all-time leading goalscorer has bagged seven goals in qualifying.
Asmir Begovic (Chelsea)
Known in his homeland as the 'Minister of Defence', Begovic is the team’s undisputed number one. Born in Bosnia, Begovic’s family fled war-torn Yugoslavia for Germany before settling in Canada. Currently enjoying an unexpected run in Chelsea’s first team due to Thibaut Courtois’s injury woes, the much-travelled Begovic represented Canada at the 2007 U20 World Cup finals and seemed happy to pursue a fully-fledged international career with his adopted country. But a lack of game-time and a change in Fifa rules saw Begovic answer Bosnia's repeated calls and he won his first full cap against Sweden in 2010.
HOW THEY SET UP
Under Mehmed Bazdarevic, Bosnia are a quick-witted, attack-minded team with all their midfielders seemingly taking turns to shoot for goal. The Bosnian midfield is normally anchored by Muhamed Bešic of Everton, but he misses the first leg due to suspension. Anel Hadzic of Sturm Graz is likely to continue in the holding role. But it’s not only Pjanic and Dzeko who are dangers to Ireland's play-off hopes. Senad Lulic of Lazio works the left flank really well and has claimed six goal assists in this qualifying campaign. Another player worth watching is central midfielder Haris Medunjanin of La Liga side Deportivo la Coruña. The 30-year-old likes to shoot from distance and has already hit two fine goals for Bosnia in qualification.
Despite boasting a lot of experience in defence, Bosnia aren’t exactly watertight at the back, probably because they attack in numbers and are susceptible to the counter-attack. Toni Šunjic (Stuttgart) and Emir Spahic (Hamburg) both play in the Bundesliga, but they are far from an impregnable combination for Bosnia.
KEY BATTLES
Miralem Pjanic (Bosnia) v James McCarthy (Republic of Ireland)
One of the strongest elements of Miralem Pjanic’s game is his ability to attack the opposition from different angles. He doesn’t have a fixed midfield position and, therefore, James McCarthy will need eyes in the back of his head to mind Bosnia’s best player. The feisty Pjanic is an incisive passer of the ball and Bosnia’s attack-minded philosophy suits his skills set. He missed last Sunday’s Rome derby through suspension, so he should be fresh for Friday night’s first leg.
Edin Dzeko (Bosnia) v Richard Keogh (Republic of Ireland)
Standing 6ft 4in, Edin Dzeko has a bit more to his game than being a mere target man. The Roma striker protects the ball well, but his all-round game is strong, plus he’s running into his best form in his first season in Italian football. He’s comfortable striking for goal off both feet, often shooting early, and he scored a couple of fine headed goals in qualification. With John O’Shea missing through suspension, a greater onus will be on Richard Keogh to curtail the Roma striker’s threat. Keogh has a good nose for danger and he won’t fear Dzeko’s aerial threat. The Derby County defender will have had two more days’ rest than Dzeko.
THE MANAGER
Mehmed Bazdarevic replaced former Yugoslav international Safet Susic as manager last December due to Bosnia’s poor start to their Euro 2016 qualification campaign. Bazadarevic is probably slightly more offensive than Susic and deserves immense credit for breathing new life into his native Bosnia’s flagging qualification campaign. He represented the former Yugoslavia at the 1998 World Cup finals and won 54 international caps.
THE CURRENT SQUAD
Goalkeepers: A Begovic (Chelsea), I Šehi (Qaraba), J Buri (Lech Poznan); Defenders: T Šunjic (Stuttgart), O Vranješ (Gaziantepspor), E Spahic (Hamburg), E Bicakcic (Hoffenheim), M Mujda (Freiburg), S Kolašinac (Schalke), E Cocali (Mechelen), E Zukanovi (Sampdoria), M Anicic (Astana); Midfielders: M Bešic (Everton), M Pjanic (Roma), S Grahovac (Rapid Wien), A Hadic (Sturm Graz), H Medunjanin (Deportivo la Coruña), TS Sušic (Hajduk Split), S Lulic (Lazio), S Salihovic (Guizhou Rehne), E Višca (Istanbul BB); Forwards: R Krunic (Empoli), E Zec (Qabala), I Hajrovic (Eibar), E Deko (AS Roma), A Hodic (Dinamo Zagreb), M Djuric (Cesena), V Ibiševic (Hertha).
THE VENUE
The Bilino Bolje Stadium, Zenica, opened in 1972, has a match capacity of 11,500, of which 880 tickets were allocated to Irish fans. Local club NK Celik play their home games at the stadium.
DID YOU KNOW?
1. A player can earn between €500 and €1,500 per week playing in the Bosnian Premier League.
2. Bosnia lay claim to Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic as his father was a Muslim Bosniak who emigrated from his homeland to Sweden in 1977. Many exiles, among them Asmir Begovic (Canada) and Izet Hajrovic (Switzerland), declared for Bosnia - but Ibrahimovic opted to play for the country of his birth.
3. An estimated 100,000 perished in the Bosnian War between 1992-95, prompting many to seek refuge in western Europe.
4. Defender Sead Kolasinac made history by scoring Bosnia's first-ever World Cup finals goal in Brazil last year. Unfortunately, it was an own goal against Argentina. Bosnia lost 2-1 and were defeated in their next game against Nigeria, 1-0. They rounded off their World Cup finals campaign with a 3-1 win over Iran before heading home when the group stages concluded.
DOMESTIC SCENE
FK Sarajevo are the current Bosnian Premier League champions, winning their first title since 2007 and their third overall. They were knocked out of the Champions League qualifying round two by Lech Poznan in July (3-0 on aggregate). There are no players from the Bosnian Premier League selected in manager Mehmed Bazdarevic's squad to face the Republic of Ireland.
