Key events
A big night for flags.
Bosnia and Herzegovina plan to play a more offensive game when they face Qatar in a must-win game to keep their World Cup hopes alive, coach Sergej Barbarez said.
A draw would put Bosnia and Qatar on two points, surely not enough to qualify in third place, and Barbarez predicted the high stakes would make for an entertaining contest.
“For us, it’s never our goal to defend for 90 minutes,” Barbarez told a group of largely Bosnian reporters. “There are always phases of the game when… you let the opponent play.”
“It’s not going to be a match of long balls and defending,” he added. “It will be two teams that will have to fight to win.”
Bosnia expect to be well supported by their fans, who have been visible in large numbers in Seattle this week. Qatar, though, are also set to have a large contingent in the stadium, with sections of Seattle Stadium already marked with Qatari flags on Tuesday evening.
The European side go into the game as favourites and victory would most likely set up a last-32 clash against co-hosts the United States. But Barbarez said Bosnia, playing in their second World Cup having been eliminated in the group stage in 2014, had to be wary of their opponents.
“Us being or not being favourites to win the match will not change our approach,” he said. “Looking at Fifa’s ranking, Qatar should be the favourite. They are better ranked than us, so we need to pay attention.”
“Form can beat quality sometimes,” Barbarez concluded. Reuters.
David Pleat has been writing for us. I wonder if he has time to do a couple of live blogs later in the tournament.
Will any of these get a summer move?
If Bosnia and Herzegovina are to get through, then this man will be key. Even at 40, Edin Dzeko knows his way to goal.
If you are a fan of permutations, then this is for you.
Preamble
Welcome to what feels like the battle for third place in Group B. If this elongated and bloated tournament is good for anything, it is allowing mediocre sides to fight it out for a chance to be knocked out in the round of 32. Bosnia and Herzegovina have the best chance, starting the day with a point picked up against Canada, who then went on to boast their goal difference by pummelling Qatar into submission. With a goal difference of -3 they need to win here and, preferably, by quite a few goals to get them into the best (eight) of the rest.
Qatar need to win and by roughly double figures. With a goal difference of -6 they are at a huge advantage. A draw is no good to either side, as that would almost certainly spell the end of their summer vacation.
It should make for a fascinating and attacking game, which is something we should all be grateful for.
Here’s to a cracker.
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