Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Iceland prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-03-22 19:45.
Bosnia and Herzegovina are gearing up for their first piece of competitive action since September when they were humbled 4-1 by Romania in the UEFA Nations League. That loss mustn’t detract from the fact a six-match unbeaten run preceded it (W3, D3), hinting that there’s more fighting spirit in this Bosnian camp than their most recent outing suggests.
That’s something that should boost new manager Faruk Hadžibegić’s belief, having been appointed at the beginning of 2023 and handed one clear assignment, to get Bosnia to their first-ever European Championship finals. His new side have won each of their last four matches on home turf, and securing a fifth in succession here would certainly get their campaign off to the perfect start, although it should be noted that they’re already assured at least a qualification play-off spot based on their Nations League ranking.
Having reached the Euro finals in 2016, it’s been a bitterly disappointing spell in terms of tournament qualification for Iceland who failed to secure a spot at the delayed Euro 2020 and missed out on a place in the 2022 World Cup thereafter. Form goes some way to explaining why they’re not necessarily fancied to change that this time around with just two 90-minute wins since the beginning of last year (D9, L5).
While there’s not much improvement on that record when you focus just on Iceland’s away form considering they’re without a 90-minute win in their last six away outings, it’s certainly worth noting that they’ve secured victories in their opening travelling games in each of their last two qualifying cycles – 2-0 vs Andorra in 2019 and 3-0 vs Latvia in 2014.
Players to watch: All-time top Bosnian scorer Edin DĹľeko (G64) has managed just two club goals in 2023, but has netted three goals across his last three international matches. Iceland will hope midfielder JĂłhann Berg GuĂ°mundsson can bring with him some of the creative prowess that has seen him register five club assists in 2023 for Burnley.
Hot stat: Four of Bosnia’s last five home matches finished by the same 1-0 scoreline (W3, L1).