The Bosnia-Herzegovina National Football Team
The Record of the 'Golden Lilies' Since the Break up of Yugoslavia
Oct 30, 2009
Unlike the former Yugoslavian Republics of Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia, the ‘Golden Lilies’ of Bosnia-Herzegovina did not take part in qualifying for the 1996 European Championships in England. Instead the side made their competitive bow in the qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup in France, when they were drawn in a group which included both Croatia and Slovenia. Bosnia-Herzegovina had an unspectacular campaign, winning three matches but losing five, and finishing fourth out of the five teams in the group. The next challenge for the team was to attempt to reach Euro 2000, but they failed to make marked progress on their previous performance, this time playing ten matches, but still winning three and losing five to finish fourth in a six team group.
Bosnia-Herzegovina Narrowly Miss Out on Qualification
Results did not improve in the qualifying tournament for the 2002 World Cup. Bosnia-Herzegovina were twice beaten by Spain, and took only a point each from Israel and Austria. Their only two wins in the group came against the minnows of Liechtenstein. Once again, Bosnia-Herzegovina finished fourth in the table. And it was to be yet another fourth place finish in the race to reach the 2004 European Championships. But this time the position did not reflect the quality of the teams improved performance. Having started poorly with defeats to Romania and Norway, the side bounced back, beating Denmark, Luxembourg twice, and winning the return match against the Norwegians. Going into the final round of matches Denmark topped the table with Romania, who had played all their games. Bosnia-Herzegovina were just two points behind, with the Norwegians a further point back. A win at home to Denmark would have seen the ‘Golden Lilies’ through to a major tournament, but they could only manage a 1-1 draw. Norway defeated Luxembourg to snatch the play-off place, and Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina were left with nothing.
Bosnia-Herzegovina Against Serbia and Montenegro
Bosnia-Herzegovina were then drawn in a tough group for the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, facing Belgium and Spain, as well as facing two potentially volatile clashed with Serbia-Montenegro. The ‘Golden Lilies’ managed another respectable collection of results, twice holding Spain to 1-1 draws, and losing only two of ten matches as they out-performed the Belgians. However a 1-0 defeat in Serbia saw Bosnia-Herzegovina finish third in the table, and allowed their rivals to top the group.
The Qualifying tournament for Euro 2008 placed Bosnia-Herzegovina in a potentially navigable seven team group. But their performance failed to match recent standards and they finished well off the pace, eighteen points behind group winners Greece, and eleven points behind Turkey in second place. Bosnia won just four out of twelve matches - two of those against Malta - and were back in their familiar position of fourth in the table.
The Play-Offs for South Africa 2010
There were plenty of old rivals to play as Bosnia-Herzegovina began their attempt to reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Once again they were drawn to meet Spain, Turkey and Belgium in a group that also included Estonia and Armenia. The Spanish, current European Champions, were unstoppable, winning ten out of ten matches, but the race for the play-off place was more open. However it was the ‘Golden Lilies’ who began to pull away, despite taking only a single from two matches against Turkey. Home and away victories over the other three sides in the group - including a 7-0 demolition of Estonia - saw the team comfortably into second place, four point clear of Turkey. An anxious wait then followed for the play-off draw, before the Bosnia-Herzegovina team learned they would have to face Portugal in a two-legged match to try and reach the World Cup in 2010.
