Canada’s Liam Millar (left) plays alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder Amir Hadziahmetovic for Hull City in the English Championship. Millar says Bosnia were the better side against Italy in their playoff final and cannot be underestimated.Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
Somewhat understandably, the Canadian men’s national team’s preparations for Tuesday’s friendly against Tunisia – the last before head coach Jesse Marsch will unveil his World Cup squad at the end of May – were affected by Italy’s playoff match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At stake was the final berth in Group B, and the right to meet Canada at BMO Field on June 12 in the first tournament match on Canadian soil.
So it was only natural that many of the players were glued to their iPhones and tablets as they travelled on the bus to the stadium from downtown Toronto.
“Yeah, not the typical bus ride to go to the stadium when we were all watching on the iPhones, and we were excited as well because obviously the World Cup is arriving very fast,” said goalkeeper Max Crepeau, currently in a battle with Dayne St. Clair to be the tournament starter.
“So I think Bosnia was pretty much the team that was most in form of the four that could have been a possibility. And so it’s going to be a very tough opponent.”
Italy misses out on World Cup again as Bosnia and Herzegovina books June date with Canada
That was pretty much the rundown from every member of the squad that spoke after Tuesday’s goalless draw. Italy may be four-time World Cup winners, and were likely many people’s favourites to advance, but Bosnia is no slouch, and no one should underestimate the world’s 65th-ranked team.
“You could tell Bosnia were a good team watching the game,” said Liam Millar. “They had more passes … more shots, but even before Italy got their red card, I felt like [Bosnia] were the better team in the game. So they’re a good team. We can’t underestimate them.”
Not that the Canadian winger will need to be reminded of that fact. At Hull City in the English Championship, Millar plays alongside midfielder Amir Hadziahmetovic, who came on in extra time for Bosnia on Tuesday. Millar says that the banter will naturally be flowing between the two for the next couple of months.
Bosnia-Herzegovina’s defender Amar Dedic (R) fights for the ball with Italy’s defender Marco Palestra during their World Cup qualifying final match. Jesse Marsch coached Dedic while he was the head coach at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP/Getty Images
It’s a similar story for Ismael Kone, who plays with Bosnia centre back Tarik Muharemovic for Sassuolo in Italy’s Serie A. While he said he’s happy that his club teammate will get to visit Canada this summer, he’s added that he’s a little surprised with Bosnia’s calibre of play.
“I saw only second half,” Kone said. “To be fair, Bosnia is a very good team. I didn’t know this was their level. I’m very surprised Italy didn’t go through though. I thought, with the experience they have, with the high-quality players they have right now, after missing two World Cups, they would be here, but it’s football.”
Like his players, Marsch also has a connection to the Bosnian national team, having coached Amar Dedic while he was the head coach at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.
Dedic, who played the entire 120 minutes on Tuesday, moved to Austria as a young boy following the Yugoslav Wars in the nineties, while captain Edin Dzeko dedicated the penalty shootout victory over Italy to his group of friends that were killed in a bombing when he was young.
“These young men have been through a lot in life and, and I think it really served them well in the last week where they were in difficult situations,” Marsch said. “Playing in Wales against a really good Welsh team, playing at home against an Italian team that everyone had already written into the World Cup.
“I have a lot of respect for what Bosnia has achieved … and I know we’re in for a really difficult first match.”