Successful end to unsuccessful qualifiers: Hajrović secured victory for the Dragons in Estonia

The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team concluded its unsuccessful qualifiers for next year's World Cup in Russia with an away victory over Estonia, 1:2. The hero of the match was Izet Hajrović, who scored both goals.

Regardless of the triumph, the match at the Le Coq Arena was in a way a mirror of the Dragons' entire qualifying campaign, at times beautiful and playful, but mostly slow and lacking ideas, waiting for some individual move.

In what was probably his last match on the Bosnia and Herzegovina bench, Mehmed Baždarević significantly changed the lineup compared to the match against Belgium. The captain's armband was worn by Ibišević, while Begović, Cocalić, Sušić, Kolašinac, Cimirot, Medunjanin, Krunić, Zukanović, Kodro and Hajrović also played.

The first half was mostly uninteresting. The only thing worth mentioning in the opening 20 minutes was the flare display by BH Fanaticos, which forced referee Bezborodov to interrupt the game for several minutes.

The players of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team had possession of the ball and patiently built up play, waiting for the right opportunity. Given that they were playing together for the first time, everything looked quite sluggish and lacking ideas, while the Estonians gradually retreated to their own half as time went on.

The first excitement came after more than 35 minutes. The Dragons missed their best chance of the first half in the 37th minute. Ibišević, after a pass from Medunjanin, avoided the offside trap and came out alone against Aksalu, but our captain in this match hesitated too much, and the home goalkeeper saved his low shot. Punishment could have come in the next attack, but Zenjov, after yet another poor reaction from our defense, missed an empty goal.

The second half began with a goal from our national team. Hajrović took advantage of a poor reaction from the home defense and beat Aksalu with a nice shot.

After the goal, the picture was more or less identical to the first half, except that the Estonians were the ones who played somewhat more offensively in an attempt to equalize.

An important detail for the national team of our country occurred in the 65th minute. Ibišević left the game and thus probably played his last match in the dearest jersey. Džeko came on in his place.

Kodro missed a good chance in the 71st minute after a nice pass from Džeko, shooting diagonally from the left side, but his shot was saved by the excellent Aksalu tonight.

The finish of the match was extremely exciting given the two goals scored, one in each net.

Just when we shifted the focus of the game to the opponent's half, the home team equalized. In the 75th minute, Antonov beat Begović with an excellent shot from over 20 meters.

Five minutes later, the Estonians could have completed a full turnaround; Begović managed to deflect a dangerous free kick shot by Luts into a corner with a last-ditch effort.

The Dragons took the lead again in the 84th minute. Džeko did everything, masterfully receiving the ball among several home players and assisting Hajrović, who beat Aksalu for the second time in the match for the final 1:2 and the fifth victory in this qualifying cycle.

Bosnia and Herzegovina finished the qualifiers in third place in Group H with 17 points, behind Belgium (28) who go directly to the World Cup and Greece (17) who advanced to the playoffs, and ahead of Estonia (12), Cyprus (10) and Gibraltar (0).

Estonia – Bosnia and Herzegovina 1:2 (Antonov 75'/Hajrović 48’, 84’)

Stadium: Le Coq Arena, Tallinn. Attendance: 8,000. Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (Russia). Yellow cards: Klavan (Estonia), Đumić (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Estonia: Aksalu, Pikk, Kait, Antonov, Anier (from 76. Jaagar), Zenjov (from 69. Tamm), Luts, Klavan, Mets, Baranov, Teniste. Coach: Martin Reim.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Begović, Cocalić, Sušić, Kolašinac (from 46. Đumić), Cimirot, Ibišević (from 65. Džeko), Medunjanin, Krunić, Zukanović, Kodro (from 75. Duljević), Hajrović. Coach: Mehmed Baždarević.

(sportske.ba)