Captain Edin Džeko starts as Bosnia and Herzegovina beaten by Switzerland

Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered a 4-1 defeat to Switzerland in their second World Cup group game on Thursday evening (18/6). An eventful finish at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles saw the match get away from them late on.

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Edin Džeko challenges for the ball.

Edin Džeko made his first appearance of this World Cup in front of 70,026 spectators in Los Angeles. After having been an unused substitute for the opening 1-1 draw with co-hosts Canada, the striker led his team out as captain for their second game. Nikola Katic was also named in the starting eleven once more after playing the full game against Canada and looked particularly assured in the opening half hour, as Switzerland controlled the match and pushed for the breakthrough.

Bosnia and Herzegovina grew into the contest as the first half wore on. However, with neither side able to take their chances, the score remained goalless at half time. Katic completed another full 90 minutes, while Džeko was replaced by Esmir Bajraktarevic in the 63rd minute.

The 40-year-old then watched an eventful finish unfold from the bench. SC Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi gave Switzerland the lead in the 74th minute, before Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic was shown a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity six minutes later. With the extra man, Switzerland added to their lead through Ruben Vargas (84’) and Manzambi again (90’). Ermin Mahmic pulled one back for Bosnia in the third minute of injury time, but Granit Xhaka restored Switzerland’s three-goal advantage from the penalty spot four minutes later.

Final group game against Qatar

Bosnia and Herzegovina will play their final group game against Qatar next Wednesday (24/6) at 21:00 CEST, with both teams currently sitting on one point. The match will be played at Lumen Field in Seattle. At the same time, Canada and Switzerland will battle it out for top spot, with the top two teams in each group to be joined by the eight best third-placed sides in the round of 32.

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