World Cup Qualifier: Cyprus vs Bosnia and Herzegovina! Star striker unexpectedly injured, will Bosnia struggle to secure these three points?

Today we start withthe World Cup qualifier: Cyprus vs Bosnia and Herzegovina!

Although there is a significant difference in world rankings, we saw in the last match that Cyprus was not intimidated by Bosnia and managed to play on equal terms even away from home.

Therefore, returning home this time, many fans expect them to perform better.

However, their head coach said thatthey are missing several important players, is that really the case?

What the Cyprus coach said is accurate,they are indeed without four players, three of whom were starters in the last game against Romania, which ended in a draw. The other, although not a starter, is the team’s vice-captain and quite a standout player.

Such absences will definitely impact the team’s fighting strength.

But the question is—Does missing these players really mean they can’t beat Bosnia?

Note: In the last match against Bosnia, only two of these four absent players actually started.

Among them, the young player Kosti was substituted early due to poor performance.

At that time, Cyprus played very closely with Bosnia on the road; now back at home, missing two players, will the difference really be that big? Probably not.

On the contrary, Bosnia’s absences worry me more.

As everyone knows,Bosnia has long built their play around a tall striker.

It’s simple: they previously had the world-class striker Dzeko, and now have Demirovic, who shines at Stuttgart. These players are the national team’s trump cards, and tactics are definitely designed around them.

For example, in their last game against Cyprus,Bosnia clearly tailored their set-piece tactics around Demirovic, which led to a successful goal.

Unfortunately,Demirovic is injured today and confirmed to miss the match.

Note: Demirovic is the only Bosnian forward valued over 5 million euros nationwide.

Why is Bosnia’s offense often ineffective but their counterattacks strong? It relates to their current situation: strong defenders, weaker midfield, and only two powerful forwards. This setup suits sitting back and counterattacking rather than playing an open positional game.

So, what level is Bosnia at when Demirovic is absent?

Unfortunately, in the last five matches where he was absent or not in the starting lineup, Bosnia lost all five, even suffering a double defeat to Luxembourg!

Yes, Bosnia still have Dzeko tonight.

But Dzeko is already 39 years old!

Note: When Dzeko last played away against Cyprus, he was a 30-year-old Serie A top scorer, netting 29 goals and providing 12 assists in a single season for Roma! Even then, he couldn’t lead the team to victory over Cyprus. Now at 39, it’s likely even harder.

So, on the surface, Cyprus seems clearly inferior to Bosnia and is missing some key players today.

But in reality, Bosnia’s loss in strength might be even greater, and I’m more inclined to expect Cyprus to at least avoid defeat.

Alright, for today’s other matches, I will continue to share my written insights tonight. If anything is unclear, feel free to ask me. “Watch football and understand it”—see you there!

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