Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica will host Tuesday’s UEFA Nations League game between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Romania. The Balkan Dragons showed character in a 1-1 draw with Finland as substitute Smail Prevljak scored a late equalizer to save one point, and, no doubt, Edin Dzeko and Co. are high on spirits ahead of the visit of Romania. Miralem Pjanic should keep his place in the starting XI, while aforementioned forward Prevljak is pushing for a start.
The Tricolori, on the other hand, failed to impress in a 2-0 loss to Jovetic-less Montenegro, which is probably the main reason why we are going to put our money on the Bosnians. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since June 2011 when Romania outplayed Bosnia 3-0 in the Euro 2012 qualifiers. As for the visiting side, defender Lucian Cirstea is unlikely to feature in Tuesday’s clash as he limped off with injury in the defeat to Montenegro.
Highlighted Player (Rade Krunic):
Rade Krunic is a product of Sutjeska Foca youth football school. The Bosnia international was born in Foca on October 7, 1993 and 19 years later he made his senior debut with his hometown club Sutjeska.
After scoring three goals in 15 appearances for the Bosnian club, the Bosnian midfielder moved to Serbian side Donji Srem in 2013. In 2014 he signed a contract with Italian side Hellas Verona, but he was immediately loaned back to Donji Srem. In 2015 Rade Krunic made 13 appearances for Serbian side Borac Cacak before joining yet another Italian team Empoli.
He has been playing for the Azzurri ever since and it has to be noted that he scored his first goal for the Serie A side in a 2-0 win over Genoa in October, 2015. Speaking of his international career, Krunic made his Bosnia and Herzegovina debut in a friendly against Denmark on June 3, 2016. He has 8 caps for Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 team as well.
Highlighted Team (Romania):
Romania were one of just four European sides to take part at the first ever World Cup in 1930, and the team have since achieved respectable results on the international stage, albeit failing to challenge for major trophies.
Led by arguably their best ever footballer Gheorghe Hagi, the Tricolorii narrowly missed out on the semi-finals at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, losing to Sweden on penalties. Romania made a total of seven appearances at the World Cup finals, while qualifying for five European Championship tournaments. The Tricolorii went the farthest in 2000, when they were eliminated by Italy in the quarter-finals.
Tied at the top of the goalscoring charts, Gheorghe Hagi and Adrian Mutu are the only two Romanian footballers to have gained worldwide recognition, but Dorinel Munteanu, Dan Petrescu, Gheorghe Popescu and Viorel Moldovan are also worth mention. Romania play their home games at the Arena National in Bucarest.