Hadžibegić: The Dragons were excellent, especially in midfield!

I regret that last night's match of our Dragons against Ivory Coast was a friendly, and not the first competitive match at the World Cup. Our players were excellent, stated Faruk Hadžibegić, former selector and renowned coach and footballer, for the Patria News Agency (NAP).

The impressions of the Bosnian expert, who lives and works in France, about the match in St. Louis, where our football team celebrated a 2-1 victory against Ivory Coast with goals from Edin Džeko, are more than positive.

- Our guys showed discipline, fighting spirit, and a desire to win, which they must adhere to in Brazil. If we continue like this, there will be no problems for us – says Hadžibegić.

He says that the midfield played particularly well, with Miralem Pjanić and Zvjezdan Misimović being masters, as well as the young Muhamed Bešić, who has established himself as an excellent option for the defensive midfield. Those guys are great, says Hadžibegić.

- I think we shouldn't get carried away. We shouldn't be unrealistic and say that we can achieve the result that the Croatian national team achieved in '98 when they won third place in France. Although, you never know. But, we can certainly be a surprise and a breath of fresh air in Brazil – Hadžibegić tells Patria.

With their performance against a strong African team, the Bosnian national team showed that, after a poor showing against Egypt, they haven't forgotten how to play. The combined lineup fielded by Safet Sušić completely outplayed Ivory Coast for most of the match. If Džeko and Misimović had been luckier, we could have scored at least two more goals, but Asmir Begović also made excellent saves on several occasions. The next match in the preparation period for Bosnia and Herzegovina is against Mexico in Chicago.