Bosnia-Herzegovina will be eager to dust themselves from their recent poor run of form when they host France at the Stadion Grbavica in Sarajevo on Wednesday. The Dragons have fallen short of expectation across all competitions in recent times despite boasting a number of household names within their rank. Ivaylo Petev Bogdanov's men are without a win in their last 10 outings, registering six defeats and four draws during the period.
They approach Wednesday's meeting with Frances off the back of a drab 0-0 draw with Costa Rica in an international friendly on Saturday. Prior to that, the hosts had drawn 2-2 with Finland in their opening Group D clash. Despite taking the lead through Miralem Pjanic in the first half, a second half double by Teemu Pukki gave the Fins the edge over their opponent before Miroslav Stevanovic's 84th-minute equalizer secured a point for the visitors.
Having failed to defeat France in any of the previous four meetings since 2004, the signs are not promising enough for one to put Bosnia-Herzegovina in a category to stun the world champions. The fact that Les Bleus have also lost just a game in 17 appearances against the Dragons proves to show this.
Eager to mount the stage and potentially defend their world title in Qatar next year, Didier Deschamp's men began their Group D campaign with a 2-0 win over Kazhakstan. Indeed, 13 of the last 17 games have ended in wins with seven of such being successive away victories. Sitting atop the table, the two-time World Cup holders will not be interested in giving up their spot, especially due to the fact that Ukraine and Finland are breathing down their neck.
Key Stats
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The last time Bosnia and France played was in October 2011, when the two sides drew 1-1.
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France have won seven straight away games in all competitions heading into this match.
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France won six of their eight matches in 2020, only losing once (D1).
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Bosnia and Herzegovina has not won an international match since a 3-0 victory over Lichtenstein in the UEFA Euro qualifiers in November 2019.
Team news
Bosnia-Herzegovina manager Ivaylo Petev will be absent from the dugout on Wednesday after returning a positive coronavirus test, Ermedin Demirovic returned to Freiburg and is not expected to be available for the play.
For France, Anthony Martial's absence remains the most notable case after the winger picked up a hip injury. Aside the Manchester United star, Les Bleus should have all the men fit and available for the encounter.
Predicted starting XI
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Bosnia-Herzegovin: Sehic; Todorovic, Sanicanin, Hadzikadunic, Civic; Pjanic, Cimirot; Stevanovic; Gojak, Krunic; Dzeko.
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France: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Kimpembe, Hernandez; Rabiot, Ndombele; Mbappe, Griezmann, Coman; Giroud.
Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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