The game was tough to watch, but the disappointment isn’t nearly as great as it was against Denmark. The frustration in the air was hard to miss (most notably with the primitive idiot who threw objects at the referee), but the hurt wasn’t quite as bitter as I had expected. The lack of players crying on the field at the end testifies to this. Perhaps it’s because this young generation realizes that several more opportunities to qualify lie before it. For those to be any more successful, however, changes need to be made – changes that will ensure the stability, order and organization necessary for a truly successful qualifying run. Ciro’s crazy train had its moments of magic, but it came grinding to a halt in exactly the way many of us feared it would. It leaves in its wake a deeply disappointed nation and a volatile situation in the FA that is once again on the verge of erupting. A smooth transition to the next phase of Bosnian football history seems increasingly unlikely, and so we’re left to wait and see what course things will take in the ensuing days and weeks.

The obvious solution is named Miralem Pjanic. In the mere five minutes he had at the end of the game, he showed exactly why he needs to play the full 90 minutes. It was his play that set up the already infamous crossbar/post combination, and I’m sure there would have been more had he been around longer. The Portuguese have shown that they can completely stiffle Misimovic, but I don’t think they can completely stiffle both Misimovic and the creative engine behind Olympique Lyonnais.

Now as for that crossbar/post. On the one hand, it’d be quite rich to say that we were unlucky. The Portuguese dominated the game, particularly in terms of sheer possession, and in fact we were lucky that they have absolutely no idea how to finish. Sure, they got the ball to our third of the field and it looked pretty, but then they did little more than dance around the penalty box. Part of it is our obvious height advantage, but that hardly explains it. Horrible crosses, lame set pieces, persistently wide shots, bundled passes… frankly, a team with that kind of advantage in possession should have scored at least another goal. The Portuguese didn’t, and it’s not because they were terribly unlucky but because they just don’t know how. But going back to my original point, while we were by far the weaker team for vast stretches of the game, it’s also a fact that we could very easily be heading back home with a draw right now, and in that sense we’re unfortunate not to.

Speaking of home, what can we expect? I’m not too optimistic. Not so much because of what we saw tonight (I believe it would’ve looked different with better player selection), but because we lost Emir Spahic to yellow cards. It was because of him that Nani was never able to do much after passing Salihovic, and it’s hard to exaggerate what this loss means to our defense. None of our potential substitutes come close to filling his shoes, in large part because they’re nowhere near as mobile as him. With that in mind, it’s hard to see the Portuguese not scoring a goal, and if they do so before us then we’re probably done for. When it’s all said and done, I’m afraid that our chances at World Cup qualification will turn out to have sailed away with that damned crossbar.

But while there’s still a game left, we’re allowed to have hope, right? First off, the yellow cards have also given us a blessing in disguise, since Muratovic and Rahimic can no longer play and Ciro will finally be forced to put in more creative options (i.e. Pjanic and Bajramovic respectively). Our defense will have to come through big time; Safet Nadarevic will have to repeat his performance tonight, Sanel Jahic will have to do better and (most likely) Boris Pandza will have to do at least as well as he did against Belgium. From there we simply have to overwhelm them offensively, which seems laughable after tonight’s performance, but I think it’s entirely possible with Pjanic on the field. One goal is all it would take to put us back in the driver’s seat, and with two creative midfielders and 20,000 screaming fans I think we’re up for it.

Ratings:

Hasagic (7.5) – Very impressive tonight. Regained the confidence of the fans and dispelled concerns about being out of form. His needless dribbling has given us heart attacks for years, but he did everything else right. Not to blame for the goal.
Jahic (5.5) – A relatively poor performance, mirroring that of the team as a whole. The weakest of our three center-backs.
Nadarevic (7) – A strong performance. He’ll have to lead the defense in the home tie.
Spahic (6.5) – A sloppy handball, but he ultimately made a number of crucial interventions. He was responsible for stopping Nani and will be sorely missed.
Ibricic (5) – It was painful to watch a man with a reputation as a dribbler turn around at nearly every challenge and pass the ball back to his defense. His work ethic has often been enough to overcome his many limitations at this position, but not tonight. A nice crossbar, but direct responsibility for the conceded goal as well.
Salihovic (5.5) – Worked very hard offensively, but found to be lacking against a winger of Nani’s qualities. Partial responsibility for the conceded goal by conceding the ball in midfield.
Muratovic (5) – Distinctly average. Occasionally held up the ball well, but did nothing to assist our attack as a player in his position should. Taking up space.
Rahimic (5.5) – Some clumsy moves, but also never really allowed to do his job properly by the referee.
Misimovic (4) – Arguably his worst ever outing with the national team. The Portuguese stuck to him like glue, and he didn’t have the speed or breathing space to do anything about it.
Dzeko (6) – Did all he could. Worked his ass off, dribbled past Portuguese midfielders and even had a few chances.
Ibisevic (5.5) – Perhaps more limited in this formation than Dzeko, but ultimately stranded as well.

Muslimovic (6) – Showed a spark coming off the bench. Could well replace Ibisevic in next Wednesday’s line-up, further compounding our height advantage.
Pjanic (n/a) – Incomplete. Could have earned a 7 if he had kept going. Absolutely has to start the next game.

Ciro (4) – No substitutions until the 82nd minute. Muratovic from the get go. The fact that we’re playing an antiquated formation in the first place.

Notes on the opposition: Portugal is a very impressive team. Played some very nice football, even if their finishing was quite poor. Pepe was man of the match and put in a great performance. Several of their players – namely Nani and Liedson – got on my nerves for going down at the slightest contact.

And lastly, what was with the random music they kept blaring over the speakers? Was that Europe’s “Final Countdown”? I can’t even begin to describe how annoying it got. But two can play that game. I propose we wire the speakers in Zenica to loop the introduction to “Lipe Cvatu” every 15 seconds. That will show them.

Well, it’s time. A little over 24 hours separates us from one of the most critical fixtures in our history. Many of our supporters are already in Lisbon, and pre-match anxiety is reaching fever pitch. One game tomorrow at the Estádio da Luz, another on Wednesday at Bilino polje, and when the dust settles we’ll know whether we’ve qualified for our first major tournament as an independent nation. Some obligatory musings from my scattered mind below the fold.

Our opponents: By any objective measure, Portugal go into this match as favorites. I could go on for a while about their exploits in the last couple of years, the reputation of their players, the clubs they play in, etc. But then again, everyone knows that stuff already, and – more importantly – favorites don’t always win. The Portuguese come in without their best individual performer, Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as their first-choice at the problematic #6 position and José Bosingwa. None of this tilts the scales or anything of the sort, but I do think it leaves us more evenly matched. The Portuguese likely starting XI looks mighty impressive nonetheless, and Carlos Queiroz does seem to have prepared extensively, scouting some of our key players in their club fixtures.

The mood: We’re all familiar by now with the soap opera that unfolded between Portugal and Real Madrid over the call-up of Ronaldo. I’m not sure what effect that has all had on the Portuguese preparations, but I can say that the mood in our camp is absolutely fantastic. Preparations have been held at a resort near Novi Vinodolski, a little seaside town in Dalmatia, so as to approximate the weather conditions that await us in Lisbon. Virtually everyone who has reported on the team there has commented on the “family-like” atmosphere among our players, to the point that it’s almost become cliche. There seem to have been literally no arguments or incidents between the players for over a year now, Ćiro is universally popular, captain Emir Spahić has carried out his responsibilities perfectly and both discipline and camaraderie seem to be at an all time high. To quote Asmir Begović:

“I’ve been amazed with the national team from the moment I arrived. The atmosphere at all the gatherings is like nothing I have ever experienced before. We breathe like one, and when you add to that the atmosphere that prevails among our fans on the terraces, then everything is better than great.”

Speaking of which, depending on the source, up to 7,000 Bosnian fans are expected in Lisbon. A similar contingent of Croatians made their presence felt at Wembley in Croatia’s famous win there, and I don’t see why our supporters can’t have a similar effect here.

Set pieces: You’ll often hear about what a good offensive side we are, but rarely does the media focus on our ability to score from set pieces. Sejad Salihović is the best free kick taker in the Bundesliga. Zvjezdan Misimović is close behind. Miralem Pjanić, at 19-years-old, has taken over the same responsibility at Olympique Lyonnais from the retired Juninho. Add to this the fact that the average height of our 10 field players is 6 ft 1, and you’re left with our secret weapon. Obviously the Portuguese are quite dangerous here as well, but I’ve heard several times now that, defensively, this might be their Achilles heel. This is a very different team from Turkey, so a set piece goal doesn’t quite hang in the air like it did in that game, but I still wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a repeat of this:

Tactics: When the draw was held, like many others, my first reaction was that we would have to play with four in the back. For a while, that was the prevailing outlook among Bosnian fans, but as of late consensus seems to have shifted back to our usual 3-5-2. Ćiro has been known to spring last minute surprises, so nothing is certain. That said, the argument for our standard formation goes something like this. Although most of the world, including Portugal, probably expects us to come to Lisbon and hold on for dear life, there are a couple of reasons why that approach probably wont do us any favors.

1.) Ćiro claims the field in question is too large to gamble on a “bunker”
2.) While our three center-backs are actually quite solid (Emir Spahić is my pick for the most underrated in Europe), we really don’t have a fourth defender that it would be worth forcing in there.
3.) All three of the above-mentioned center-backs have yellow cards left over from previous games, which means that with just one more yellow card they’d be out of the deciding game in Zenica. This puts us at a huge disadvantage if our goal is merely to hold on for dear life.
4.) Although our defense really isn’t as bad as it’s been made out to be, our strength is definitely in our attack. We’ve had our best success when playing to our strengths, whereas defensive formations against Turkey and Spain away yielded little.
5.) Since this first game is away, it’s even more important that we score.

For all these reasons, I think Ćiro will stick to his 3-5-2, hoping that a tightly organized pressing game can stifle the Portuguese attack while still allowing us to grab an away goal. Unlike our opponents, who have already declared themselves to be among the favorites in South Africa (you can be sure our players were reading these statements), the players’ and coaching staff’s only goal is to achieve a competitive result.

A few question marks remain with this formation. First of all, the goal. Kenan Hasagić has been our first-choice keeper for years, but he is terribly out of form right now and even Ćiro admits as much. I see Asmir Begović taking his place. The three center-backs will most likely remain the same. Salihović is a lock for the left wing-back, while I see the right wing-back spot going to Ibričić, who simply has to play one way or the other while Ćiro is in charge. As usual, Rahimić will be defensive midfielder, while I expect (and hope) that Muratović will no longer be in the second midfield spot after the debacle against Spain. Ćiro has already announced that Pjanić will be his joker off the bench, while he promised earlier that Bajramović would be in the starting XI if he could start regularly for Eintracht. He has, and therefore I see him there from the first minute in Portugal. The remaining offensive midfielders and the striking partnership? Misimović, Ibišević and Džeko – it almost goes without saying. Choice of substitutes will obviously depend on the circumstances of the match, but Pjanić, Muslimović and Medunjanin seem the most likely.

A final verdict?: Although we seem to have briefly become the darlings of Europe’s football media, I don’t get the impression that many Portuguese fans take us very seriously. And even if their manager has scouted our players on the club level, I find it incredibly telling (not to mention amateurish) that he has already announced his side as major contenders for the World Cup. Belgium was similarly confident, claiming that they were looking for six points from their two matches against us – we all saw how that ended up. I recognize that the Portuguese are a strong team, but I don’t consider them any stronger than Turkey or Spain. Against the Turks, I think we showed that we can carry our selves with Europe’s top sides. And as for Spain, I think most would agree that the 2-5 loss in Zenica was incredibly misleading; as the clip below demonstrates, with a little more luck we could’ve gone into the half with a 2-0 lead. The past year or so of Bosnian football has had an almost fairy tale-like quality, and I don’t see why it should end here. Our manager is looking for a draw or a narrow loss with away goals, and that’s also what I see as the most likely outcome here.

But I have to say I never did. Because while a person can always grow, mature and change, the natural talent that Husejinović has simply can’t be taught. I was worried that Said might have ruined his chance to make it at a big club like Werder, but held out hope that he would pull himself together and get his career back on track. Repentant remarks after a charity friendly for east Bosnian refugees last summer gave me cause for optimism, as did the ecstatic reviews of Bremen fans who had watched him at training.

Then last week, after many months, Said finally got his chance. After sitting on the bench again in a cup tie, he found himself in the squad again in last round’s Bundesliga match against Nürnberg. In just fourteen minutes, he managed a fantastic cross and directly participated in the build-up to Aaron Hunt’s equalizer. Praise followed from the press, the fans and even general manager Klaus Allofs.

“… he was involved in all the dangerous actions. He did very well… now he just has to stabilize [his performances during training]” – Klaus Allofs

What will happen next is open to question. Said didn’t play in the Europa League this weekend because he wasn’t registered for the competition, but he does seem to have clawed back into the squad for the Bundesliga. The competition is stiff, and the coaching staff’s expectations for him in terms of discipline and work ethic are quite high. If he can put in the required effort, however, there’s no reason we can’t hope that Said’s abilities will shine through and that he can stake out a spot in Werder’s rotation. And at that point, the national team could always use another pacy winger.

Haris Medunjanin has a somewhat different life story. Born and raised in Sarajevo’s (in)famous commieblock neighborhood of Ali-pašino polje, he left the country in the wake of the war for Western Europe, re-emerging at age 19 as the best young footballer in the Netherlands. He was part of the Dutch U21 team that achieved such notable success mid-decade, and earned the wrath of many Bosnian fans after apparently rejecting a call up to the Bosnia squad. What exactly happened is unclear, although with the kind of people running things in the FA at the time it seems clear Medunjanin deserves at least the benefit of the doubt. His career has never quite taken off as some might have hoped (allegedly lagging due to attitude problems), but somehow he still found his way to the Spanish La Liga. Playing semi-regularly for Valladolid, he’s currently the only Bosnian in perhaps the best league in the world. Oh, and has been on absolute fire and seemingly incapable of scoring an average goal. Blessed with a fantastic technique and a wicked left foot (not unlike his former neighbor at Ali-pašino and childhood idol, Elvir Baljić), Medunjanin has scored two fantastic goals in just the last week or so. I’ve included some youtube highlights of him below, not including either of these two recent strikes. To put it simply, I expect Haris to see some playing time as a substitute in these two games and I’m excited to see what he can do.

And I largely agree with the conventional wisdom. A draw against Greece would be fantastic, a draw against Portugal acceptable and a draw against either France or Russia serious trouble. Once again, I don’t think anyone is fooling themselves into thinking that Greece would be easy – they’re a very difficult side to play against. But between Gekas/Amanatidis and Džeko/Ibišević, well… I know which Bundesliga duo I would choose. We’d need for everything to fall into place and a fair bit of luck, but it would be the opportunity of a generation.

I’ll try to wake up early tomorrow and give my reaction to the actual draw.

Edit 1: And I’m awake. Ok… let’s do a live-blog kind of thing.

Edit 2: Sepp Blatter = dodgy uncle

Edit 3: Ok… France out of the way. So far so good.

Edit 4: And so Portugal it is. Could’ve been better, could’ve been worse. At least we have the deciding game at home. I think this is doable.

p.s. For anyone wondering what the hell happened to me (all two of you then), my computer with the password(s) for this blog had to go in for repairs. It was just my luck that Best Buy needed a little over 5 weeks to replace the keyboard. Maybe I could’ve figured out some round about way to keep on posting, but it was hard to motivate myself with a full load at college. Either way, the computer is back and so am I.

Fortunately, we got off to an early lead. Ibričić broke through the Armenia ranks in the sixth minute, heading the ball into the post and then heading again to send the rebound into the back of the next. After that we had a number of solid opportunities, ranging from a shot cleared off the line to a catastrophic Edin Džeko penalty. As the game wore on and we failed to capitalize on our chances, some flaws in our play began to appear and the Armenians, besides doing very well in midfield, even got a decent shot on goal. We were fortunate that Nemanja Supić was in surprisingly good form, making a number of solid interventions to justify his status in favor of newcomer Asmir Begović.

All that said, however, it was obvious that we were the better side; our technique and dribbling made the Armenians look plain foolish a couple of times, while Emir Spahić put in a man of the match performance at center back. When Miralem Pjanić and Zlatan Muslimović came in as jokers off the bench, our game noticeably picked up. It all came together in the 73rd minute, when Muslimović finished the play he had started at the halfway line, firing in a superb Džeko assist.

All eyes are now turned to the showdown with Turkey on Wednesday. Whatever issues we may have had playing against a lackluster Armenia team in a half empty stadium, I don’t expect them to trouble us in Zenica. The Turks simply have to win for any real shot at qualifying, but there will be absolutely no lack of motivation on our part either. The game will be epic, and football mania should rise to a fever pitch in Bosnia as the day draws near. Although Ćiro’s tactics remain a mystery (it’s not at all clear that he’ll play 4-4-2 like he did in Armenia), we’re all aware of the individual quality we posses. Turkey is a great team with a number of fantastic players, but on their day Edin Džeko, Vedad Ibišević, Zvjezdan Misimović, Emir Spahić, Sejad Salihović and the others can more than match them.

- Since the questions surrounding Spahić’s health were resolved, the big story in the run up to the qualifiers has been Asmir Begović. Begović had earned the wrath of Bosnian fans following his questionable interview last month, but the opinions quickly changed (as I expected) as soon as he put in some good performances. A surprise injury to David James has meant that Begović saw action in three games for Pompey, including fifteen minutes against Arsenal and ninety against Manchester City. Between that and the Carling cup tie, Begović conceded two goals in some 200 minutes, neither of which for he was particularly to blame (they were a dodgy penalty and an Adebayor header from a corner kick).

Begović arrived at the team hotel in Sarajevo on Monday, the same day as almost all of the other players. The media got a few statements from him on camera almost the moment he got out of the van, and it’s worth noting that he spoke Bosnian very well – I guess just about everything he said on that radio show was a lie. The general impression he has made in training itself has been very positive, with a lot of fans and media outlets commenting that he seems very determined and has made some fantastic saves. Meanwhile, the Bosnian national team has also made a good impression on Begović:

“It’s [completely] different than in Canada, or even in Portsmouth. You can see that people are living for this. At every training session a lot of fans come and watch us work – you don’t have that in Canada, and not even in Portsmouth, for they don’t allow fans to come to the trainings. And no, I don’t regret my decision at all, although it was a hard one to make.” – Asmir Begović

- Whether he’ll actually start against Armenia, however, is unknown. In terms of tactics, the first big question is goalkeeper. Asmir Begović or Nemanja Supić? For me it’s a no-brainer; Supić may have done everything that was asked from him against Belgium, but he’s currently without a club and definitely not in form. Begović, on the other hand, just did very well against two of the strongest teams in the world – he should get the start, and I expect that Ćiro will eventually see reason before kick off. The other big question is that of offensive midfielder, which we’ve discussed before on the blog. Zvjezdan Misimović has accumulated yellow cards, which means that someone will have to fill his shoes. That someone will most likely be 19-year-old wonderkid Miralem Pjanić, who has been performing very well in Lyon so far in the season. Beyond that, the likely names on the starting XI are well known, but the exact formation remains a mystery. The team has practiced with a number of different formations in favor of the traditional 3-5-2, and Ćiro’s statements to the press have not made things any clearer. Nothing’s certain until Saturday, when we’ll see if anything comes of it or if Ćiro was just bluffing for the opposition.

I’m not sure what to think about Ćiro’s decision. Hrgović is certainly not liked by Bosnia’s supporters, and he has a pretty bad relationship with Senijad Ibričić, who he got into a fight with at an indoor tournament last year. One of the key strengths of this team is its chemistry, and this could be like throwing a wrench into an otherwise well-oiled machine. On the other hand, Hrgović is only one man, and on his day one of the best options we have at his position. If Ćiro does start him out at left wing back, Hrgović could allow for Sejad Salihović to finally play a more offensive role. Whatever the case, here’s the full list of call-ups by position.

Keepers: Nemanja Supić, Kenan Hasagić, Asmir Begović

Defense: Emir Spahić, Dario Damjanović, Adnan Mravac, Sanel Jahić, Damir Mirvić, Boris Pandža, Safet Nadarević, Mirko Hrgović

Midfield: Elvir Rahimić, Samir Muratović, Semir Štilić, Sejad Salihović, Miralem Pjanić, Zvjezdan Misimović, Zlatan Bajramović, Senijad Ibričić,Admir Vladavić

Forwards: Edin Džeko, Vedad Ibišević, Zlatan Muslimović

In the meanwhile, some of our players’ club performances have been very encouraging. In particular, Miralem Pjanić scored a fantastic free kick in Lyon’s Champions League tie against Anderlecht, and followed it up today with another goal in Ligue 1. Emir Spahić continues to impress, scoring another goal in the last round and doing well in today’s action as well. David James’ injury in Portsmouth’s match against Arsenal today meant that Asmir Begović got another opportunity between the sticks, which he used to at least stop Pompey’s bleeding in the last twenty minutes (they had let in five until then); assuming that James will be out for at least a week, Begović will have a fantastic opportunity to get some Premiership action and stake a claim for the starting spot in the qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey. Also, we may soon have another player in the premiership: Sanel Jahić seems to be on the verge of signing with Hull City.

16 goals in der ersten Liga might warrant a transfer to FK Sarajevo, but a call-up to the national team is quite a stretch. With all due respect to Mirnel, him making the cut is an insult to all the quality players who didn’t (Ermin Zec comes to mind). What makes it particularly frustrating is that Sadović is a forward, by far our strongest position. I only wonder how much money Munib Ušanović got for this one. Whatever the amount, a good deal of it will probably be spent on Ilidža’s whores and kafane. Unbelievable.

2. In a (somewhat) dramatic turn around from my original post on him, Asmir Begović seems to have firmly decided to play for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Wait, what? Well, following Ćiro’s call-up to the friendly, Asmir clarified some things in another interview or two with the Sarajevo press. He explained loud and clear that he intends to play for Bosnia, but had denied it during the infamous radio interview because he hadn’t yet spoken to anyone from the Canadian FA and didn’t want them to hear it from the media first. He also said that he hoped to be able to come to the preparations for the August 12th friendly in order to meet the team, but that he probably couldn’t make the game itself as his wife was scheduled to give birth on the same day. He assured fans that he’d be available for the qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey.

Asmir is apparently set to go out to some Scottish club on loan, which means he’ll probably be getting valuable first-team experience in a fairly decent European league. As far as the national team goes, I can see him as our starting goalkeeper by the end of the year. Much of it depends on Hasagić’s health, but I honestly can’t see Supić providing too much of a challenge. On a related note, I will never understand the fans’ bizzare love for Nemanja Supić. He did well enough when called upon, but from the way he’s treated on the Bosnian internet you’d think he was the second coming of Enver Marić.

Beyond that, I don’t really have much to say. The topic has been done to death on both sides of the Atlantic, often getting hyperemotional and way too political. Whatever. Sorry Canada.

3. The new season is starting up across Europe, and our players have already put in some nice performances. I watched both Wolfsburg v. Stuttgart and Hoffenheim v. Bayern, and our Bundesliga quartet played fairly well. Zvjezdan Misimović scored a fantastic goal from just outside the box to seal the game for Wolfsburg (first of the Bundesliga season… Youtube clip below), and Edin Džeko created a couple of nice opportunities that he failed to punctuate with a goal. Sejad Salihović had a very nice game against Bayern, playing a little more forward than last year, while Vedad Ibišević made a nice assist for the team’s only goal and nearly scored himself with a header. Meanwhile, in France, Emir Spahić couldn’t have wished for a better start with Montpellier, scoring a 90th minute equalizer against Paris Saint-Germain in his Ligue 1 debut. Montpellier had been down a man for much of the game, making Spahić’s performance at CB all the more impressive. Also, potential returnee Haris Van Međunjanin scored against Wolverhampton.

4. As far as the game itself… what to say? I’m in Sarajevo at the moment, so I’ll be able to head out and see it from the stadium myself. From what I’ve heard, Iran is missing several key players due to the aftershock of this summer’s political events, which should make our job quite a bit easier. Fair enough if you ask me. We’ve already played several friendlies with Iran in recent years and it’s almost always ended up with a defeat on the field and chaos off of it. Why? Because our corrupt FA officials (most notably the departed Ahmet Pašalić) arranged to get bags full of cash under the table from their Iranian counterparts. In return, Iran would get to play a friendly against a real “European” team and prove their footballing prowess by defeating our motley crew of disgruntled veterans and anonymous nobodies (think Mirnel Sadović). Well now it’s time for revenge. This is the last opportunity to hone our tactics before facing Armenia, and so our players will take it seriously. On paper, anything less than a convincing win would be a disappointment.

That said, a couple of recent developments have probably forced Ćiro to shuffle and re-shuffle his line up. As I mentioned earlier, Begović won’t be playing because he’s expecting the birth of his first child on the same day. Similarly, Misimović will be staying behind in Germany due to some problems with his father’s health. The first bit of news leaves Nemanja Supić’s starting spot assured, while the second means that Misimović won’t even play a single half. Seeing as we can’t count on Miske for the qualifier against Armenia, it’s probably better that way. Who exactly will replace him, however, is still less than clear. On the injury front, Zlatan Muslimović and Elvir Rahimić both wont be able to show up, but the latter can now be replaced by Zlatan Bajramović, who apparently no longer feels any pain in his big toe (fingers crossed). With all this in mind, my projected line up is on the right; perhaps not ideal, but more than enough to deal with a depleted Iran squad.