Like many of the other World Cup qualification groups, Group H has three minnows along with three contenders. With only one automatic qualification spot up for grabs, it is vital for the bigger sides to pick up results up against each other. Belgium v Bosnia and Herzegovina is a prime example of this kind of match.
Despite a lot of expectation surrounding Belgium prior to the tournament, the star-studded team failed to deliver under the guidance of Belgium’s record goal scorer Marc Wilmots – falling at the quarter-final stage against underdogs Wales.
With the team expected to make at least the semi-finals given their depth of talent, Marc Wilmots was deemed a failure and sacked by the Belgian Football Association.
In his place came an odd choice in former Everton manager Roberto Martinez. For a side who looked all at sea in defence at Euro 2016, appointing a manager who is known for defensive naivety seems mind boggling.
Qualification has started well for the Belgians with a victory, however, going up against minnows Cyprus isn’t exactly the toughest of challenges and a team of Belgium’s stature should be routing them by at least a four goal margin. This qualification campaign, and the World Cup if they reach it, will define whether this collection of players are merely a group of individuals or a proper team.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were the victims of both the British an the Irish during their Euro 2016 qualification campaign. Firstly they were pipped to the second automatic spot by Wales before being knocked out of the playoffs by the Republic of Ireland.
Mehmed Baždarević’s side have started the campaign very well with a 5-0 win over minnows Estonia, putting them top of Group H. If they manage to secure a result against Belgium, which with a few top quality players such as Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic they are capable of doing, then they will lay a serious marker down as the team to beat over the next 18 months.
This isn’t the first time these two sides have faced each other in competitive action. The pair met in the previous qualification campaign for the European Championships where Belgium first managed to take a point in Zenica before beating Bosnia 3-1 in Brussels.
I would expect this match in Belgium to be a similar result and simply cannot see past a home win. With neither of these two particularly good at the back, goals is a fair assumption here. With this in mind, I would go for ‘Belgium to Win & Over 2.5 Goals’ at 11/10, as well as ‘Both Teams to Score’ at Evens.
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