Bosnia and Herzegovina opens its World Cup campaign against host Canada in Toronto on Friday, June 12, in a match that carries the weight of a long and difficult qualification run. For the players, staff and supporters, it is the first chance to see whether the team can turn that momentum into points on the tournament stage.
Salih Hadžialić called the qualification a fascinating success, one he compared only with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s trip to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He said the route was anything but smooth after heavy friendly defeats to Germany and England, when calls went up for coach Sergej Barbarez and his staff to resign. Behind the scenes, Hadžialić said, the technical sector led by Emir Spahić and scout Saša Papac helped bring in younger players with quality who agreed to join the national team.
The playoff itself had the feel of a breakthrough. Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Wales on penalties in Cardiff, then beat Italy in Zenica, with Hadžialić describing the latter as a four-time world champion and calling the effort superhuman. He said the team’s footballers do more to unite the country than any politician, and said friends and colleagues in Belgrade, Montenegro and Croatia told him they were backing Bosnia and Herzegovina, a sign he expects sympathy across much of the former Yugoslavia during the tournament.
The opening against Canada is still the cleanest test of where Bosnia and Herzegovina stands. Asmir Begović said both teams have equal chances and that the match is completely open, while stressing that Bosnia and Herzegovina must stay focused on the field and aim for a positive result. Hadžialić put the wider target in simpler terms: reaching the World Cup was already a huge and unexpected success, and anything beyond that would be a bonus.
That leaves Friday with a straightforward question for Bosnia and Herzegovina: whether a team that survived a punishing route to the tournament can begin its World Cup with the same resolve that got it there.
