Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the smallest countries in Europe with a population of less than four million, will leave for Brazil under little pressure. This doesn't mean that they are not capable of an upset, though coming up against Argentina, Nigeria and Iran will be no easy task.
Group F - Bosnia and Herzegovina
World Cup history
Bosnia and Herzegovina will be writing the opening chapter of their World Cup history in 2014. It has been a case of near misses for the national team in recent years, having suffered play-off disappointment against Portugal ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. They suffered similar disappointment in qualifying for the 2004 and 2012 editions of the Euro, as well as narrowly missing a play-off spot for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
How they qualified:
Determined not to leave qualification to chance, Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Greece to automatic qualification in Group G. After some massive wins, including 5-0 away to Latvia, 3-1 at home to Greece and 8-1 in Liechtenstein, it was a solitary goal from Vedad Ibisevic in Lithuania that confirmed their qualification. Though being level on points with the Greeks, they finished with 18 more goals to their name to win the group on goal difference.
Key players:
Bosnia and Herzegovina boast some decent players across the park. Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is highly rated in the English Premier League, while captain Emir Spahic (defender) plies his trade for Bayer Leverkusen and has 72 international caps. In the midfield Roma's Miralem Pjanic will be the dangerman but it is upfront where they have considerable quality. Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko helped the Citizens to their second league title while Stuttgart's Ibisevic boasts 20 goals in 53 games for his country.
Coach:
Safet "Pape" Susic has been at the helm since 2009. His debut game was against Ghana where Pjanic and Ibisevic secured a 2-1 victory. But it would be a difficult start for him as just two wins from his first six games saw some calling for his head. Susic, who is widely considered one of the top players to have come out of Bosnia, would then take them within a whisker of qualifying for Euro 2012 before seeing his side go on a nine-match unbeaten streak From August 2012 to August 2013. That run allowed them to achieve their highest ever FIFA ranking (13th), before securing progress to the World Cup for the first time in their history.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's Group F Fixtures:
15 June: Argentina v Bosnia and Herzegovina (00:00) - Maracana
21 June: Nigeria v Bosnia and Herzegovina (00:00) - Arena Pantanal
25 June: Bosnia and Herzegovina v Iran (18:00) - Arena Fonte Nova
