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Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Greece (9 June 2017- World Cup Qualifier- Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica)


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Oikonomou and Koutroubis over Siovas is a non-brainer for me despite Koutroubis' development with Panathinaikos this year. I don't get it at all. Also I'd prefer Lazaros instead of Bakasetas. Btw regarding the lack of wingers, does anyone know if Klonaridis is willing to play for Greece ? I mean if he has claimed the Greek passport yet. Obviously there's no chance he will ever be in Belgium NT radar and I think he could provide some 'depth' as a backup once in a while. 

Other than that, if Tziolis starts in the game we'll surrender the midfield after the first 5 minutes. Dude came in as a sub in Brussels and couldn't run, couldn't keep his position and the possesion. Him and Zeca screwed us in that game, we could even afford losing. (even though a loss against Bosnia would disminish the victory in Belgium.) Siopis' size and playing style don't suit in such a game too, remember that Skibbe tried to match Belgium's big bodies by picking Samaris and Tachtsidis (who was awful until that game in the campaign but he surprised us positively). As a result I think that after Zeca's injury Kourbelis has a good shot at starting along with Retsos and Maniatis. Basically 3 of them will battle for 2 positions in the starting XI. Then Mantalos, Fortounis, Mitroglou and may I say one of Gianniotas or Donis up in front.

I do think that we finally have built some team chemistry and don't lack cohesion to the extend we did in the first 4 games. If only half of our midfield wasn't suspended we could see another good display and could handle the opposing midfielders and attackers the way we did against Belgium until Tachtsidis was sent off. Skibbe did a great job putting Mantalos and Mitroglou pressuring their world class CB's but had to give up once we lost Tachtsidis. I expect him to follow the same game plan which will deliver as far as Bosnian CBs and defence overall is weaker in comparison to Belgium and that will lead to some good opportunities for us to score. Again the key will be to handle their midfield and especially Pjanic. 

Edited by Boxou
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Bosnia is a much stronger team at home then they are on the road and they usually score in numbers at home. In saying that I think if we had a healthy team we would be able to shut the door on them. I think it will be a tough match for us as I think our midfield will cost us the game, I don't see any combination of players that can control the mid and the flow of the game for us. Also I don't want to see Oikonomou starting I think the guy shows flashes of being okay but overall he makes bad decisions and is sloppy in my opinion. I'm pretty sure you will see Tziolis start which is a bad move. Also if Zeca is healthy you can guarantee he will start. IMO the only thing Zeca brings to the team is speed. I believe the last time we played in Bosnia we conceded 3 and lost and that's when we had a solid defensive team so all in all this game scares the s%$#! out of me. Even with our full team at home we should have lost that game against Bosnia. I'm hoping even with the injuries the Greece team builds on the chemistry they've shown the last game against Belgium.

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Hy.

As for BiH:

Goalkeeper

Obviously Begović. He spent last 2 years on the Chealsea bench but he pointed out that he had quality trainings with top players and coaches. He feels full ready.  We will see, I'm not convinced. Recently signed for Bournemouth and there he should be a starting keeper in a new season.

Defence

Although he is nearly 37 years old Spahić is still our best CB but he isn't called for this game because he is a without club for a while. I wouldn't call our available CB's bad, but just average. There are 1000 players of their level in the World.

RB is our weakest spot for a long time. Mujdža was reliable on that position for years but his best days are now behind him, he isn't in the national team anymore and we don't have at least one promising RB. Vranješ is our starting player on that position but in reality he is more a CB. Our second option is  RB/RM Vršajević but he isn't avilable because of injury and anyway he is a worst player in a national team overal.

In Kolašinac we have great young LB. He played really well for Schalke in the last season and Arsenal may be his new club, with Pjanić and Džeko he had best season of all Bosnian players, but...he will miss this game because of suspension.

Midfield

Pjanić obviously is a main figure. 

Our best DM Bešić was injured for a long time, he returned recently but only for Everton reserve squad, national team coach called him anyway. I would be suprised to see him in the starting 11, but I'm glad he's here.

Wingers

I really can't stand both on the right side Višća and on the left side Lulić. My less favourite part of the team. They can't dribble or just do anything useful in most of the national team games. They are actually pretty good in  their clubs Istanbul BB and Lazio but I guess it says something about the level of those teams.

Strikers

Džeko is a top scorer of the Seria A  and a Europa league so obviously he is in the great form, but many people belive there is a Džeko rule:"When he plays bad for the club he scores for the national team, when he plays good for the club he misses for the national team."

Ibišević, he's always there.

Young guns Hodžić, Bajić and Kodro had either decent or good seasons in ther clubs so i expect to see at least one on them in the second half, especially if things go bad for our team.

 

Let the better wins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hello Greeks :) this should be another cracker game. William hill has this at Bosnia 1.83 draw 3.00 greece 4.75. May the better team win. If Bosnia wins I don't think anything is over , this group will be tight until the last round. 

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BOSNIA-GREECE SOLD OUT IN HOURS 

The  importance of the Bosnia-Herzegovina-Greece World Cup Qualifier next Friday has been long discussed. It is the most crucial fixture yet in the two teams’ bid to qualify for Russia 2018.

For Bosnian supporters, there is also little doubt of the importance of the fixture and this week all 12,000 tickets on sale for the match were snapped in a matter of four hours. The qualifier is set to be played in the small, but intimidating, confines of the Bilino Polje Stadium in the city of Zenica in central Bosnia (43 miles north of Sarajevo).  As expected, Bosnian fans were quick to make the match a sell-out in the 15,600 capacity stadium and the Ethniki will surely be set to walk into an electric atmosphere. There will be Greeks in the stadium however, in particular an official contingent from the fan club Galanolefkos Faros.

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As long as no one tries to pull someone's shorts then should be ok. On a serious note, what an opportunity for Greece to make a statement in the Group. I hope we can take advantage of the fact that they are playing at home, expected to win and some pressure that comes with that.

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their defence is very bad. if we managed to score to belgium on paper this should be a piece of cake. I believe the mentality in the match vs Bosnia in Athens wasn't the same as right now. Currently the team chemistry is top peak, and the previous 2 draws vs better (on paper/ranking) opponents should be something to boost our confidence.

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On 6/2/2017 at 9:08 AM, Greekaroos said:

I think this match will end up 1-1 again.

I hope not, cause that will miss out an opportunity for first place. Belgium will beat Estonia and Gibraltar before the September 3rd match in Piraeus. That will be the one where Greece can play for first place. 

Edited by Molon Lave
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For get Greece fighting for first place and forget about thinking of scenarios for us taking first. Let's just focus on the biggest game of this campaign and let's not look ahead because this will be a tough challenge for us take 3 points. The odds are definitely not in our favor as it's a tough place to play in. 

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During the game you really should pay attention on the performance of our "wingers"  Višća and Lulić.

Lulić is in the national team from the 2008. Till now he played really well in only 2 games: BiH - Romania 2 - 1(in 2011) and Cyprus - BiH 2 - 3(in 2015). Two great games from 2008 to now! To be fair, he played really well against Andora too.

Višća is in the national team from the 2010. Till now he played really well in only 1 game: BiH - Israel 3 - 1(in 2015). One great game from a 2010 to now!

 

If you don't actually watch them play in the national team and just read about them you would think they are dangerous:

- Istanbul BB finished 2nd in the Turkey and Višća is a key player of the team

- Lulić is in the starting 11 of Lazio for years

 

It's sad. Every new national team game is a new hope for me they will finally convince me I'm wrong, years are passing...maybe this game vs Greece is finally that game?

 

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Honestly if Pjanic misses the game this is a big wow for us because their other midfielders are superleague tier.

I remember Bosnians begging for Cimirot, a currently sub for PAOK to start in the midfield. I watched cimirot in like 10 games in total? I still don't understand what's so special about him other than his intensivity when trying to take a ball back.

Their defence is bad to mediocre at best , with Kolasinac out.

Their midfield is mediocre with Pjanic out.

Their Strikers are good, but what can they do on their own. Please, Juve, don't let Pjanic go for precausions :D!

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We like Cimirot because he is a untypical Bosnian midfielder. We produce many talented midfielders who are all similar to each others: They can pass, they can shoot (free kicks), they can dribble but they all are lazy, slow and defensive tasks are non existing for them.

Cimirot is a hard worker, can run for two games and is a huge defensive presence. National team coach isn't the biggest fan though.

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Cimirot is much better than any midfielders we will be playing. Bosnia's team is not super league quality, they have shown that repeatedly. This is going to be a very hard game.

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