Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Finland

Bosnia & Herzegovina and Finland will lock horns in a crunch World Cup qualifying meeting at the Bilino Polje.

A 1-1 draw away to Ukraine last time out left Bosnia with real chances of securing the play-off spot in World Cup Qualification Group D, snapping a run of two consecutive qualifying defeats. The Bosnians sit two points adrift of second-placed Ukraine, but they have a game in hand over the ex-Soviet Union state and could leapfrog them in the standings with a win here. However, that would require Bosnia to secure their first home victory in the ongoing qualifying cycle (D1, L1) and defy their negative H2H record in competitive matches (W1, L2). When it comes to competitive action, Ivaylo Petev’s men are winless in their last seven games (D3, L4 – 90 mins only), failing to find the net four times in that run.

In the meantime, Finland’s hopes of reaching back-to-back major tournaments for the first time in the nation’s history are very much in the realm of possibility, thanks to a haul of two wins from their last four World Cup qualifying fixtures (L2). The visitors trail the coveted play-off spot by a single point. With Ukraine out of action in the next round of fixtures, they could take over second place in Group D. Considering they will play section leaders France on the final matchday, it’s hard to make a case for Markku Kanerva’s side to reach their objective unless they win here. But the ‘Huuhkajat’ have blown hot and cold on the road in the current World Cup qualifying campaign (W1, D1, L1), while they’ve only won one of their last six internationals on foreign soil (D1, L4).