Nigeria
extinguish Bosnian dreams:
Debutants Bosnia and
Herzegovina saw themselves exit the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ after two
games, following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nigeria. Peter Odemwingie's
first-half goal was enough to put the Super Eagles within a point of the Round
of 16.
With
Argentina having already sewn up qualification from Group F, the race was on to
try to wrap up the remaining spot. Both sides were set up to play attacking
football, and when Haris Mendunjanin was booked for bringing down Ahmed Musa,
Peter Odemwingie – who had impressed as a substitute against Iran – fired the
free-kick inches wide.
The
Bosnians were looking intent on playing attractive football in pursuit of the
result they needed, with their nimble-footed midfield pairing of Miralem Pjanic
and Muhamed Besic combining superbly, only for the young Ferencvaros midfielder
to fire over. The African champions, for their part, looked keen on making
Begovic work, as the shots from distance were raining in from early on. First
John Obi Mikel saw his low, zipping shot flash just wide, before the Stoke City
goalkeeper had to beat away Ogenyi Onazi's effort.
Edin
Dzeko thought he had put the Europeans ahead, but after latching on to Zvejzdan
Misimovic's slick through-ball and slotting past Vincent Enyeama, he looked up
to see a flag had denied him. It was the Nigerian veteran goalkeeper himself
who was next to prevent the Manchester City man opening his World Cup account,
pushing his near-post shot away for a corner.
However,
after the Super Eagles had spent ten minutes on the back foot they struck
against the run of play. Emmanuel Emenike's near-unstoppable momentum saw him
bundle past Emir Spahic down the right flank, before he laid the ball on a
plate for Odemwingie to slot past his club team-mate Begovic.
While striking
on the break was proving lethal for Nigeria, it seemed just a matter of time
before the World Cup debutants would find joy with feeding Dzeko. He was a
constant worry for Joseph Yobo and Juwon Oshaniwa and had a great chance of the
stroke of half-time, but after Pjanic's cut back, he blazed over from 12 yards.
The
pattern of play continued after the break, with the eastern Europeans' passing
creativity finding gaps in the Nigerians' backline, but they lacked the killer
pass or clinical finish to make them count, while the west Africans broke at
pace and tested Begovic from range. The goalkeeper had to be on his toes to
deny Emenike from much closer in though after the Fenerbahce striker pounced on
a ricochet off Odemwingie, only to see Begovic stick out a long Bosnian leg to
put it behind at his near post.
Safet
Susic had said he wanted to save the semi-fit Sejad Salihovic for their final
game if he could, but caved to the ticking clock, bringing on the Hoffenheim
midfielder and goal-scorer from the opening match Vedad Ibisevic for an influx
of experience. The introduction of the latter almost paid off, but he could
only flick Misimovic's corner over the bar.
With 15 minutes remaining and their shirts drenched in sweat, Zmajevi (The
Dragons) were getting agitated with their World Cup future looking bleak, but a
Pjanic shot from range doingtle to trouble Enyeama. Stephen Keshi's side were
still out to make the result safe, and Onazi tested Begovic again with another
drilled effort from before Emenike shot just wide.
When
Misimovic fluffed his lines on the edge of the box with 90 minutes on the clock
it looked destined not to be their night. Edin Dzeko headed straight at Enyeama
moments later, before seeing his effort from six yards turned on to the post, and
that save ultimately sealed their exit from the tournament.
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