Will Grbavica bring luck: Prosinečki names the lineup, Džeko's 100th appearance for the national team

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina's campaign for the European Championship begins tomorrow with a match against Armenia. The duel at Grbavica was announced by selector Robert Prosinečki and captain Edin Džeko. Robert Prosinečki emphasized that he has already determined the starting lineup and that the team is ready for the duel with Armenia.

“I have decided regarding Kolašinac and all 11, who will play and who will start, Sejo had some problems with his shoulder, we will leave him for the match against Greece.”

“We scouted Armenia, which was not in our group through the Nations League, but was entering better and better form. It is a team that came to Sarajevo to achieve a good result. They will give their all to make the best possible result. We are preparing for that, in the Nations League we gained confidence, we created an atmosphere, there will be many fans, my players will give their all to win.”

Prosinečki is aware that his selected players are not facing an easy match.

“Not an easy match at all, as shown yesterday, Kazakhstan beat Scotland, Croatia barely beat Azerbaijan, we all believe we can win. Croatia pressed in the second half, it was not easy at all, which they knew, it is certainly a warning to everyone. It should have looked easier, and the most important thing for us is to play like the last few matches in the Nations League, and if we play like that, there is no reason not to have a good result.”

The Dragons' selector claims that his selected players are better and that they will achieve victory after the statement of Armenia's selector that in modern football, favorites do not win.

“Armenia's selector can say whatever he wants, some national teams win more simply, we hope we are favorites. Yes, modern football has reached a higher level, but usually the best win. They are good, but I think we are better.”

Regardless of the fact that our national team plays on Tuesday against a theoretically tougher opponent, the team of Greece, there should be no calculation against Armenia.

“We only think about Armenia, it is neither easier nor harder. Tomorrow we must be 100% ready, physically and psychologically, I think there will be no calculations in the team, there may be changes. Everyone is ready, except Sarić. I have 22 players at my disposal and I have already decided who will start,” Prosinečki stated.

Given that Džeko will record his 100th appearance in the national team jersey tomorrow, the match will be special for him.

“It is a special match for me because it is the jubilee 100th at 'my' stadium where I started my career. Certainly, it will be an additional motivation for me to play the 100th match the best so far, and it will be even sweeter if we manage to win, that is definitely our goal. The dearest match must be the one with Lithuania when we won and went to a major competition for the first time. I reluctantly remember the matches with Nigeria at the World Cup, and also with France when we conceded a goal from a penalty. That match will not remain in good memory because we played well.”

The captain of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team did not want to talk too much about individuals, he commented on Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

“There is no need to talk much about names, names do not play on the field, we are ready for the match and we will enter the encounter with maximum seriousness, to achieve what we want, and that is three points for a positive atmosphere and everything that comes. Mkhitaryan is their best player, I personally like him a lot. I hope he will not cause us many problems, but I hope he will do that to other national teams in our group.”

The Roma striker is primarily interested in his team's goals, as well as his personal performance.

“I hope above all for a victory, and if I score a goal, it will be better for me. Goals sometimes come, sometimes they don't, I hope there will be many on our side in these qualifiers,” concluded the experienced striker.

The duel between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Armenia is played tomorrow at 20:45. The main referee is Jakob Kehlet, assisted by Lars Hummegaard and Heine Sorensen. The fourth referee is Jans Maae, and the referee observer is Drago Kos from Slovenia.

(Sportske.ba)