Team Focus: Free-Scoring Bosnia Could Become Neutrals' Favourite in Brazil

An extraordinary and somewhat surprising qualifying campaign for Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen them qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their short history. That history has been a painful one for many Bosnians and the war, quite apart from the great many atrocities that it caused, also stagnated the nation's development in footballing terms. Now, with a rapidly growing economy and relative political stability in the country - that is to say, recent anti-government protests are a far cry from the violence of the Bosnian War - the nation's sportsmen are thriving.

Bosnian footballers are now plying their trade across the continent at some of Europe's top teams while the domestic league continues to develop, amongst them Edin Džeko enjoying another victorious season at Manchester City and Miralem Pjanić's reputation growing further in another fine season at Roma. But that is only scratching the surface of the nation's riches. The most impressive thing about the national team, however, is that the machine they combine to produce is a greater force than the sum of their highly talented parts.

Only Germany (36), Netherlands (34) and England (31) scored more goals in the European section of qualifying than Bosnia (30), who managed to put 3 past the best second-best defence as they recorded a vital win over Greece. Bosnia themselves conceded only 6 goals, but they managed only 4 clean sheets, failing to shut out bottom-of-the-group Liechstenstein on two occasions or third-placed Slovakia, who scored only 11 goals in their 10 matches.

However, that mattered not for Safet Susic's side. 'Attack is the best form of defence' has barely ever been more fitting for a football team. As a household name, Bosnia are not the most glamorous, but they play free-flowing, adventurous, attacking football that has attracted admirers and ultimately reaped the greatest reward: the chance to showcase their talents on the grandest stage.

Bosnia make their World Cup bow in the daunting surroundings of the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday week, against none other than second favourites to win the competition, Argentina. Quite an ask of a World Cup debutant, but don't think that Bosnia will be overawed by the occasion. 

Argentina aside, the draw has been fairly kind to the Bosnians. They and Nigeria should be expecting to battle it out for second place, and while Iran have proven themselves defensively sound and a tough unit to break down, it is not unfair to say that Bosnia will be hoping to get the better of them, particularly given they lost to Uzbekistan and drew to Qatar in the final round of the Asian qualifying campaign. Greece are about as tough to break down as they come, and Bosnia saw them off with 3 goals in that aforementioned game. The goalscorers that day were typical of this Bosnia team: Džeko and Stuttgart's Vedad Ibišević.

Džeko (10) was second only to Robin van Persie (11) in the goalscoring stakes in European qualifying for the World Cup, and though the Dutchman boasts unquestionable class, he comes into the tournament lacking fitness and thus match-sharpness. He hasn't completed 90 minutes since mid-march. Few in the whole competition, meanwhile, will be going to Brazil in quite the same form as Džeko.

It is easy to write off his goals in qualifying given the opponents he scored against (7 came against Liechtenstein and Latvia) but he also produces the goods against better opposition. He scored 2 of the 4 goals Greece conceded in 10 qualifying group matches, while domestically he fired in the goals that won City the Premier League title. No player scored more than him in the English top tier in 2014 (12), and it is fair to say nobody scored as important goals either. His brace at Goodison Park after talisman and key striker Sergio Agüero had gone off injured were arguably the most vital goals of City's run-in. His side went on to win the league by 2 points, but would have lost at Everton without the goals he scored and with a loss would have finished second in the league.

That is not the extent of Bosnia's strength up front, however. Ibišević was joint-third in the goalscoring charts in European qualifying, netting 8 times to put him level with Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mesut Özil. Lethal in front of goal, he boasts a WhoScored strength of 'finishing', having scored 25 goals and maintained a conversion rate of 20.3% over the past two Bundesliga seasons. He too, along with Džeko is physically domineering and dangerous in the air. They each scored 4 headed goals in league games last season and often strike partners do not compliment each other if they share too many similar attributes, but these two combine exceptionally well to produce a deadly partnership that will surely score goals in Brazil.

Behind that front two, Bosnia have a midfield capable of creating more than sufficient chances for their strikers. Miralem Pjanić ranked amongst the top 50 in Europe's top 5 leagues last season by WhoScored rating (7.48), playing a key role in Roma's largely unprecedented title charge. His lengthy list of statistically calculated strengths signify the extent and breadth of his talents, with creativity top of the list.

Pjanić created 73 chances in his 35 Serie A appearances last season, while only two players laid on more clear-cut chances than him all campaign (11). Mattia Destro was a clinical striker for Roma, but he missed a chunk of the season through injury, suspension and a lack of fitness. Had he not done so, Pjanić would surely have added to his tally of 6 assists.

Likely to line up alongside him in central midfield is Hoffenheim's Sejad Salihović. Versatile, having played in no fewer than 5 positions this season alone, Salihović is a technically-gifted set-piece specialist who provides a genuine goal threat from the middle. His average of 2.3 shots per game last season was one of the highest amongst central midfielders in Europe. 

One would presume, that the concern for Bosnia and Herzegovina with two strikers whose games are so focused on finishing chances and midfielders who provide so great an offensive threat, is that they will too frequently leave themselves susceptible at the back. 

That, however, is the beauty of this Bosnia team. England are often criticised for a lack of ambition in their play and came through qualifying rather unconvincingly, whilst playing football that won't have inspired much hope of entertainment in Brazil. Bosnia, meanwhile, go into the competition with little pressure to perform, and if they stick to their usual attacking game, could well become something of a neutral's favourite at Brazil 2014, playing some of the most entertaining football at the tournament.

How do you think Bosnia and Heregovina will fare at the World Cup? Let us know in the comments below

Want to know more about Bosnia and every other team at the World Cup? Find everything you need to know in our comprehensive World Cup guide, which you can download here