Dragons without Džeko, but trained with Zeljković for Cyprus: Can we open the qualifiers with two wins?

(Patria) - The Bosnia and Herzegovina "A" national football team had their official training session today at the FK Sarajevo Training Centre in Butmir, ahead of the second-round match of Group H of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus.

The training was also attended by the President of the Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vico Zeljković, who wished the players luck for tomorrow's match.

Both teams achieved victories in the first round two days ago. The BiH team won 1-0 away in Romania, while the Cypriots were better than San Marino at home, winning 2-0.

The national teams of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus have met 4 times so far, and both teams have achieved two victories each. The BiH team has a better goal difference, 8:7.

The first match was played at the "Bilino Polje" stadium in Zenica on September 9, 2014, as part of the European Championship qualifiers, and the Cypriots won 1-2. The BiH team took the lead with a goal from Vedad Ibišević in the 6th minute, and the visitors turned the score around with goals from Dimitris Christofi in the 45th and 73rd minutes.

The return match was played at the "GSP" stadium in Nicosia on October 13, 2015, where the Dragons achieved a 3-2 victory. Haris Medunjanin scored two goals in the 13th and 44th minutes, and Milan Đurić also scored in the 67th minute. For Cyprus, Constantinos Charalambides in the 32nd minute and Nestor Mytidis in the 41st minute found the net.

The next two matches were played as part of the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. In the first match at "Bilino Polje" on October 10, 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina won 2-0 with goals from Edin Džeko in the 70th and 81st minutes.

The last match was played at the "GSP" stadium on August 31, 2017, and the home team won 3-2. The Dragons had a two-goal lead, with goals scored by Toni Šunjić in the 33rd minute and Edin Višća in the 43rd minute. Cyprus's comeback was orchestrated by Dimitris Christofi in the 65th minute, Vincent Laban in the 67th minute, and Pieros Sotiriou in the 76th minute.

Tomorrow's match will be officiated by Rohit Saggi from Norway, assisted by his compatriots Morten Jensen and Anders Olav Dale. The fourth official is Daniel Higraff, while in the VAR room are Tom Harald Hagen and Kristoffer Hagenes, all from Norway.