In a game that was reminiscent of a high school soccer game, Bosnia and Herzegovina would fall short in their very first World Cup appearance. The Bosnians would start off great and would score early to open up the game… Well, that’s what we all thought. The goal, which probably would have been considered one of the best of the World Cup, was called back after Edin Dzeko was called for offsides. Replay would show that he was clearly on side and by a fair margin. After that botched call, Bosnia just seemed to deflate.
Nigeria’s Emmanuel Emenike played like a madman. No other way to put it. He was responsible for the one and only goal of the match, which transpired not long after the bad call against Bosnia. Emenike would run up the right wing on the 28th minute and would get past Emir Spahic, leading up to a square pass to Peter Odemwingie, who would then put it in the net.
And to be honest, that was just about it for the action. Despite the goal that was called off, Bosnia did not deserve a draw, much less a win. They were slow, did not play into the opposing perimeter, and would not put plays together. Too many times did they lack the urgency to put something together. Usually we could cut them some slack because it was their first World Cup but they did not play like they wanted to stay.
Because of the lack of decent play, they will be missing the knockout rounds while Nigeria is in the drivers seat for the 2nd spot in Group F. Argentina is in the top spot after a win against Iran, leaving them with 6 points and into the knockout rounds. Nigeria will take on Argentina and the winner of the match takes the group. Now, a tie or better will send Nigeria into the next round. A loss and an Iran win will come down to goal differential. Take a look at the updated FIFA World Cup Standings to see who is in and who is out.
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