Bosnia and Herzegovina just missed out on the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup but things currently look good as they aim to reach Euro 2012. As they overcame Luxembourg’s underdog trap, Bosnia and Herzegovina clinched a 3-0 victory to climb on top of Group D at the end of match-day one.
On the contrary, France allowed themselves to get deceived by a Belarus side that eventually created history. The worst thing for Les Bleus is that news on the injury front is embarrassing. No Guillaume Hoarau, Loïc Remy, or Louis Saha. The trio had to withdraw ahead of Tuesday’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Hoarau lacks of fitness following 90 minutes of tough football in France’s defeat to Belarus. Meanwhile, Louis Saha – who played just over 10 minutes on Friday – is suffering from a calf injury whereas Loïc Remy is on the sidelines with a groin injury.
Although Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is poised to make an impact as he returns for France, Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Safet Susic is confident of a victory to round up the first two match-days of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on a high note. The manager boldly declared:
“My players completed the task [of defeating Luxembourg]. They scored early goals and we eventually started the qualifiers with a win. France are coming to play against us as wounded lions.
My players will try to create an upset like Belarus did.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina will make history on Tuesday if they defeat Les Bleus. It would actually be their first victory against France since the two other meetings ended differently. In August 2004, Bosnia and Herzegovina spoiled Raymond Domenech’s coaching debut for France as Ivica Grlic clinched an equalizer to earn his side a 1-1 draw. In 2006, France improved on that result as they defeated their counterparts 2-1.
Les Bleus would be more than happy to repeat this score line on Tuesday so as to put their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign back on track. Laurent Blanc’s team seems to be running out of ideas and all they want to do is to create a new chapter in their recent history of football. Chelsea’s determined Florent Malouda declared:
“We have to get a result. This team has to put up a good performance and clinch a result that can eventually be a reference.
“We know that it will be very difficult, but maybe we need to follow Belarus’ example. They came to us looking for a point, and gradually, they started playing with more freedom. We are losing matches, and we need to bring this run to an end.”
