Ireland warned that Edin Dzeko is Bosnia’s Cristiano Ronaldo

Striker Edin Dzeko is as important to Bosnia-Herzegovina as Cristiano Ronaldo is to Portugal, and he poses a major threat to Ireland in the Euro 2016 play-off tie.

So says recently-resigned Israel national coach Eli Guttman, whose team beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 in Haifa last year before losing 1-3 to Ireland’s opponents in Zenica during the Group B schedule of qualifying matches.

“The difference between the two matches was Dzeko,” Guttman explains. “He missed the first match through injury but was back for the second one. Without him Bosnia were weak.The impact his return made was incredible. Bosnia were completely transformed. The whole team is more confident when Dzeko’s there. He’s like the father and mother of the team. Like Ronaldo for Portugal, Dzeko can make the difference in any match. That’s how vital he is.”

Captain Dzeko, who struck seven times in seven Euro 2016 Qualifying Group B appearances, was involved in all three goals scored by Bosnia- Herzegovina in the second match, converting a penalty and involved in the build-up to both of the other goals as Mehmed Bazdarevic’s team recovered in style from a sloppy start to their campaign under sacked boss Safet Susic.

“Bosnia are a very technical team, who know how to move the ball around well,” Guttman continues. “If Ireland give players like Miralem Pjanic freedom to pass the ball, they’ll be in big danger because Bosnia know what to do to cause problems. When we beat them in Haifa, we decided to press high up the pitch. Winning the ball like that gave us space to counter-attack behind them, and it worked well.”

Israel’s approach saw them outplay Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first-half, exposing the lack of pace in front of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic with slick passing and smart finishing. 2-0 ahead at the break, Guttman’s team completed a rout in the 70th minute, when Bosnia-Herzegovina’s attempt to play offside failed miserably and cost them a third goal.

“We used the same strategy in Zenica, and although we lost there I believe it was correct,” Guttman reflects.

“The difference was we made some crucial individual errors, like when we failed to deal with a corner that led to the penalty for Bosnia’s second goal. But we still made a lot of counter- attacks in this match.”

Since Bazdarevic succeeded Susic, Guttman has noticed a change in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s system.

“Before it was often 4-4-2, with Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic together in attack,” Israel‘s ex-boss points out.

“But now it’s more often three midfielders — Muhamed Besic, Haris Medunjanin and Senad Lulic, with Pjanic further ahead and Dzeko alone up front. Besic being suspended is a big blow for Bosnia in the first leg. He’s their best defensive central midfielder and has been playing well for Everton.”

Based on Israel’s encounters with Dzeko & Co, what system should Ireland use against the Bosnians?

“4-3-3 and a high-pressing game,” Guttman replies without hesitation. “At home they play a high defensive line so there’ll be plenty of chances for Ireland to counter-attack.But Ireland should be careful of the Bosnian full-backs, who like to move forward. The right-back, Mensur Mujdza, is important to how they play and his crosses from the right are dangerous.”

Indeed, when Bosnia-Herzegovina took the lead in Belgium earlier this year Dzeko rose high to head past Thibault Courtois from Mujdza’s right-wing delivery. This play-off looks very equal to me,” Guttman concludes.

“It really is 50-50. For Ireland I think it’s important to score an away goal in the first leg. So a score-draw to bring back to Dublin would be a good result.”