Bosnia & Herzegovina take on the visitors Ukraine in the semifinal match of UEFA Euro 2024 qualification. The match will be played on Thursday, February 21st at Bilino Polje (Zenica)
Bosnia intends to seek revenge against this opponent. The Golden Lilies only made it to a major tournament once, playing in the World Cup 10 years ago in Brazil. However, in 2014, they only managed to secure one victory, with a couple of defeats and no advancement from the group stage. Yet, Bosnians lost in playoffs on four occasions. Interestingly, they've struggled in the playoffs for the past three Euros! Nevertheless, the national team has secured a place in League A of the UEFA Nations League and will play there again in the next cycle. The squad still includes experienced players like Džeko and Pjanić, as well as Kolašinac, Krunić, and others who play or have played in top leagues. Admittedly, they failed in the qualifiers, accumulating only 9 points and finishing second to last, below Luxembourg and Iceland. However, it seems they've long had this plan B in mind.
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Ukraine played under Andriy Shevchenko at the last Euros. Moreover, they achieved their best result in history there: advancing from the group stage and even defeating Sweden in the playoffs with a goal from Dovbyk in the 120+ minute. But then, they didn't extend the contract with the legend, and it backfired. Under the new coach, Petrákov, they failed to qualify for the World Cup (although they reached the decisive playoff round, losing only to Wales in the playoff final due to an unfortunate deflection). They also lost the top spot in their UEFA Nations League group to Scotland. As a result, during the Euro qualifying draw, the national team was drawn against England and Italy. Competing against them seemed like an impossible task. They drew against The Three Lions under Rebrov and fought until the last minute with Italy for the second spot. However, due to a 0-0 draw with Gli Azzurri in the final round (with controversial moments in the final minutes – was there really no penalty for the favorites?), the team entered another playoff round. Currently, there are enough legionnaires in the team, and the coaching staff will have some pleasant questions to answer: whether to start Lunin or Trubin, and whether to field Dovbyk or Yaremchuk. However, there are also enough losses, primarily the experienced veterans Yarmolenko, Stepanenko, and Krivtsov.
In 2021, the teams played in the World Cup qualifiers. Ukraine drew at home but won in Zenica. Overall, the hosts haven't made progress in three years: their leaders have aged further, and despite all the disclaimers, they failed in the qualifiers. Meanwhile, under Rebrov, the team is in good form – we bet that the Yellow-Blues will win again here.
Prediction for the match: Ukraine to win.
