World Cup
Dzeko and Alajbegovic the heroes as Bosnia beat Wales on penalties to reach World Cup playoff final
- Summary
- Bosnia and Herzegovina set up clash with Italy
- James gave Wales the lead
- 40-year-old Dzeko levelled for visitors
- Alajbegovic sealed penalty shoot-out win for Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s veteran striker Edin Dzeko scored a late equaliser before youngster Kerim Alajbegovic sealed a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Wales to reach the World Cup playoff finals on Thursday after a 1-1 draw.
Wales winger Daniel James opened the scoring for the hosts in the 51st minute after racing on to a loose ball and powering a thunderous 25-metre shot past Bosnia keeper Nikola Vasilj.
Bosnia came alive after that, though, and home keeper Karl Darlow made an incredible save to keep out a close-range header by Ermedin Demirovic, but could do nothing when the 40-year-old Dzeko glanced in an 86th-minute equaliser.
Wales dominated extra time but could not force a winner, and in the end it was Bosnia’s teenager Alajbegovic who held his nerve to seal the shootout with an ice-cool spot kick to send the visiting fans wild in the Cardiff City Stadium.
Bosnia can now look forward to a home clash against Italy next Tuesday in the Path A final to secure a place at the World Cup for the second time after their debut in 2014.
“Faith is everything. We believe in success, and I am happy to have this group of guys,” Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said.
“No matter what happens on Tuesday, we have the will to make this nation happy.”
WELSH PAIN
It was a familiar heartache for Wales two years to the day that they lost a Euro 2024 playoff final on penalties against Poland, and there was desolation in the stands at the end.
“It’s tough to take, I thought we played really well. For them to get a late goal was gutting,” James said. “It wasn’t meant to be tonight, but the boys will be stronger for it.”
Leeds United winger James missed the decisive penalty against Poland two years ago, but it looked as though he had gained redemption with a magical goal that was worthy of winning any game, let alone one of such importance.
Had his deflected effort not bounced down off the underside of the crossbar soon afterwards, Wales would surely have gone on to set up a home clash with Italy.
But the technically gifted Bosnians, who were 13 minutes away from qualifying automatically in their group only to draw with Austria, grew in belief as the minutes ticked down.
As Wales dropped deep, they began to create chances with Alajbegovic at the heart of his side’s threat.
He forced a fine save by Darlow, and when he whipped in a corner, it was former Manchester City striker Dzeko who showed his enduring class to peel off his marker and glance an unstoppable header into the net.
Dzeko was taken off before the start of extra time and became involved in a heated row with Wales coach Craig Bellamy as the tension mounted in extra time.
Harry Wilson, who had also hit the woodwork early in the first half, had a glorious chance to seal it for Wales, but his goalbound shot was read by defender Tarik Muharemovic, who managed to head it clear.
It looked good for Wales when Darlow saved the first spot kick from Demirovic, but Brennan Johnson blazed his effort over the crossbar, and Neco Williams saw his penalty saved by Vasilj.
It was then left to Salzburg’s Alajbegovic to clinch it for the visitors, who are now unbeaten against Wales in five games.
-Reuters
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Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami has called on his players to emulate Morocco’s shock run to the World Cup semi-finals four years ago as they prepare for their first appearance at the global soccer showpiece in North America.
Jordan will face Austria, Algeria and Argentina in Group J at the June 11 to July 19 World Cup and are holding their final training camp in Antalya this week.
Some players say they can barely sleep in anticipation of the tournament but Sellami wants them to draw confidence from Morocco’s achievement at the last World Cup, where they lost 2-0 to France in the last four.
“In big competitions, many teams can surprise. My country Morocco reached the semi-finals in the last World Cup,” he said. “That gives us belief.”
Jordan will play Costa Rica later on Friday and Nigeria on Tuesday as part of a four-team regional tournament that also includes Iran and was relocated from Jordan to Turkey due to the war in the Middle East.
“Of course we feel sad about what is happening. I hope there will be peace,” midfielder Noor Al-Rawabdeh said at the camp.
“But this is football — we moved here and we need to adapt. In the World Cup you face the unknown, so we must be ready for everything.”
Despite their underdog status, the players say they are not going to the World Cup just to make up the numbers.
“For us, we are not going just for participation,” Al-Rawabdeh added. “We are aiming to go as far as we can in the tournament.
“To be honest, sometimes we don’t sleep when we think about it,” he added. “It’s a dream come true for us.”
Jordan secured an automatic berth at the World Cup after finishing second behind South Korea in their Asian qualifying group.
Defender Mohammad Abu Alnadi said the squad were relishing the opportunity to compete on football’s biggest stage.
“It’s truly amazing. All of us are excited. It’s one of the highest levels any player can play,” he said.
“We want to go as far as possible — like any other team — and make history again.”
Sellami said the Antalya camp was a key stage in building experience ahead of facing elite opposition.
“We are preparing step by step. We’ve played against different football cultures,” he said.
“We are collecting experience and, Inshallah (God Willing), we will surprise many people.”
-Reuters
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Bolivia came from behind to beat Suriname 2-1 in their inter-confederation playoff semi-final in Monterrey on Thursday, keeping alive their hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 1994.
The South Americans will face Iraq in Tuesday’s playoff final for a place at the tournament in Group I, while Suriname’s bid to reach the finals for the first time came to an end after surrendering their early second-half lead.
Suriname struck three minutes after the restart when Liam van Gelderen reacted quickest to a chaotic goalmouth scramble, pouncing on a loose ball after keeper Guillermo Viscarra failed to gather or clear and tapping home from close range.
Substitute Moises Paniagua drew Bolivia level in the 72nd minute, latching onto a loose ball after a series of deflections and steering a toe-poked finish into the far corner.
Bolivia were then awarded a penalty after a Myenty Abena foul on Juan Godoy, and Miguel Terceros stepped up to convert from the spot in the 79th minute, completing the turnaround for ‘La Verde’.
Played in front of a largely Bolivian crowd at Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA, the match was attended by FIFA president Gianni Infantino and offered a glimpse of a venue set to host four games at the World Cup.
-Reuters
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France started their preparations for the World Cup convincingly as Kylian Mbappe inspired them to a 2-1 friendly win over Brazil despite being reduced to 10 men early in the second half on Thursday.
Captain Mbappe, showing no sign of the knee problems that had troubled him in recent weeks, opened the scoring in the first half, while Hugo Ekitike found the net after Dayot Upamecano was sent off 10 minutes into the second half.
Gleison Bremer pulled one goal back for Brazil.
While the French defence, without the injured Jules Kounde and William Saliba, was shaky at times, their attacking firepower was too much to handle for Brazil, who lacked creativity in the midfield.
Mbappe now has 56 goals with France and is just one shy of Olivier Giroud’s record, which he could at least equal when Didier Deschamps’s side takes on Colombia in another friendly in Landover, Maryland, on Sunday.
“For us, it was not friendly. Playing Brazil is a great opportunity to see where we stand tactically and technically. It’s great to play matches like this. I said before the game we should not conclude it, so I’m not going to be hypocritical and treat it like a World Cup final,” said Mbappe.
“We showed creativity and remained solid. We’re moving forward. All I want is to be on the pitch and play — every kid dreams of playing a France-Brazil match. I know it’s a privilege.”
France carried an early threat on the break against a Brazil side intent on pushing forward.
Didier Deschamps’s team struck first in the 32nd minute through Mbappe after a sharp transition. Aurelien Tchouameni won back possession and fed Ousmane Dembele, who released Mbappe into space down the right, and the France captain accelerated clear of Leo Pereira before calmly lifting a right-footed finish over Ederson.
The goal capped a lively opening spell in which France looked dangerous whenever they found space, Mbappe’s pace stretching Brazil’s back line and forcing them on to the back foot.
Brazil threatened a quick response when Vinicius Jr. capitalised on a loose ball and slipped Gabriel Martinelli through, but the Arsenal forward’s effort from the edge of the area curled just wide of the target.
Luiz Henrique replaced Raphina at halftime and made an immediate impact, testing Mike Maignan with a powerful shot from just inside the box as Brazil looked more dangerous early in the second half.
They were quickly rewarded when Upamecano, in a last defender position, was shown a straight red card for tripping Wesley in the 55th minute.
But France did not panic and even doubled the tally in the 65th minute , as Ekitike dinked a right-footed effort past Ederson after being played through by Michael Olise at the end of a counter-attack.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side eventually pulled one back when Bremer tapped in from Luiz Henrique’s cross in the 78th minute, but France held firm to secure Deschamps’s first victory against Brazil in his coaching career
-Reuters
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