Bosnia Hopes For Proud Farewell to Brazil

Bosnia's last match at the World Cup on Wednesday against Iran is being seen at home as a chance for the team to play notch up its first ever victory at the global tournament and say a proud goodbye to Brazil.

“I hope they give their best tonight even though this match does not mean anything in terms of progressing further in the World Cup,” one fan, 32-year-old Edin from Sarajevo, told Balkan Insight.

“It was a disaster the other day against Nigeria but tonight is a chance to win,” he said.

The 1-0 defeat to Nigeria on Saturday, which followed the team’s previous 2-1 defeat to Argentina, saw the Bosnians eliminated from the tournament.

“It was a success in itself that they managed to qualify for the World Cup but again they could have played better against Nigeria,” said Rijad, 27, from Sarajevo.

“On the other hand, the team seems to have internal problems, but I hope they give their best and leave Brazil with pride,” he said.

After criticism of the way the players performed against Nigeria on Saturday, Bosnian coach Safet Susic promised new faces on the pitch in the match against Iran.

“It will not be easy, but it would be important for us to say goodbye to this World Cup in a beautiful way. Then people will later maybe realize that we needed a bit of luck [in the earlier matches],” Susic said.

“There will be changes, there will be a few new players in the starting 11,” he promised.

The coach of the Bosnian under-21 team, Vlado Jagodic, said that a victory against Iran would constitute success at the tournament.

“It would be a first and historic win [in the World Cup], and at the same time we would finish the competition in a dignified way,” he said.