Canadians welcome Dragons with great respect: They will be a tough opponent for us

(Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina will play its first match at the World Cup on June 12 in Canada against that selection. Canadian media have already written extensively about the Dragons, paying special attention to Edin Džeko, the captain of our selection, who turned 40 in March.

Well-known Canadian journalist John Molinaro, in his article on sportnet.ca, notes that this is Bosnia and Herzegovina's second participation in the World Cup. The first was in 2014 in Brazil. Molinaro analyzed the composition of the BiH team and specifically warned about striker Džeko, as well as full-backs Amar Memić and Esmir Bajraktarević. He states that the match will be a challenge for Canada.

Molinaro also notes that a weakness of the BiH team could be the inexperience of the players, most of whom have between 20 and 30 appearances for the national team.

He spoke with several Canadian players, as well as head coach Jesse Marsch. Coach Marsch knows Amar Dedić, whom he coached at Red Bull Salzburg.

"Their players grew up in a war-torn country, and many of them were lucky to escape, to find their way to different countries. I coached Amar Dedić (at Red Bull Salzburg) - his family moved to Austria and had to find a new life there," said head coach Jesse Marsch.

"So, these players have been through a lot in life, and I think it has really served them well (in the European playoffs) where they found themselves in difficult situations. I have a lot of respect for what Bosnia has achieved, for what those people have been through, for what those players have been through, and I am happy they are at the World Cup. I know we have a really tough first match ahead."

Midfielder Ismaël Koné added that "to be honest, Bosnia is a very good team. I didn't know this was their level. I am very surprised that Italy didn't advance. I thought that with the experience they have, with the high-quality players they have, by now, after missing two World Cups, they would be here, but you know, that's football."

Winger Liam Miller noted that even while watching the match against Italy, he saw that Bosnia is a good team.

"They had more passes, obviously. I know Italy had a red card. But even before Italy got the red card, I felt that (Bosnia) was the better team in the match. So, they are a good team. We must not underestimate them. They will come here with energy."

Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau pointed out that BiH is the team in the best form of the four teams Canada could have played.

"It will be a very tough opponent."