45′ HALF-TIME – FRANCE 1-1 BOSNIA.
42′ Fair play to France for that quickfire response, but it will be a tough pill for Bosnia to swallow. They had barely had time to settle into a rhythm, and Griezmann’s goal ruined their hard work.
39′ GOAAAALLLL!! FRANCE 1-1 BOSNIA – What a response from France as Griezmann bundles the ball home to draw them back level. The Atletico Madrid forward tried to attack the corner at the near post, only to miss his header by inches. However, Dzeko’s clearance hit the former Real Sociedad man on the back, and Sehic was unable to claw the ball away in time. All of the French forwards screamed that his effort had crossed the line and the VAR official agrees. GAME ON!
E. Džeko
Goal
36′ GOAAAALLLLLL!!!! FRANCE 0-1 BOSNIA – Dzeko fires the home side into the lead, and Lloris has no chance of stopping his strike. The towering forward pounced on the edge of the French box, held off two defenders before blasting the ball into the bottom corner.
36′ SAVE! Pjanic fires his free-kick around the wall, but he goes for placement rather than power, and that allows Lloris to dive to his right-hand side and keep the score at 0-0.
35′ Free-kick to Bosnia 25-yards out from goal…
33′ France have lost only one of their nine games following a major tournament. There’s still a long time left in this match, but they should improve that record later this evening.
J. Veretout
Yellow Card
30′ Veretout is the first player to be shown a yellow card after a late challenge on Demirovic.
26′ OFF THE POST!!!! Mbappe rattles the frame of the goal from a narrow angle, and that is the closest we have come to an opening goal. The Paris Saint-Germain ace latched onto Digne’s cross, but the angle proved too much as he fired against the upright.
24′ Dzeko is doing what he can to win free-kicks and frustrate the home side, but he needs more help from midfield.
22′ Kolasniac’s season with Arsenal has got off to a shaky start, but Bosnia need him to find his feet tonight as he will be pivotal to their chances of scoring with the left-back expected to get up and down the pitch and provide crosses for Dzeko and Demirovic.
18′ We are nearly halfway through the first half, and neither keeper has made a meaningful save, but that is mainly down to France’s loss of control. Bosnia will know they cannot switch off, as if they do, the likes of Mbappe, Griezmann, and Benzema will punish them.
15′ It will be interesting to see how Griezmann and Mbappe fair tonight. So much speculation over their club futures and a late move for the former. Can they perform after a hectic few days?
13′ Benzema tries his luck from the edge of the box, but his shot takes a deflection and is saved easily by Sehic.
11′ For the first time during this match, Bosnia are starting to see more of the ball in the middle of the park. They have more numbers in that department than France, but they need to get the ball into Dzeko and try and play off the former Manchester City man.
8′ Les Blues win a corner, but Bosnia deal with the danger, and the scoreline remains 0-0. We have yet to see Mbappe get free, but Pogba has seen a lot of the ball so far.
6′ As expected, France started the game on the front foot and pushed Bosnia back into their own half.
4′ France’s first attack sees Benzema go close with a right-footed shot, but the home side fails to win a corner after the flag goes up for offside.
2′ France concede an early free-kick as Lemar clips Dzeko in the middle of the park.
1′ We are underway in Strasbourg!
Just the national anthems to go, and then we will be ready for this World Cup qualifier from Group D.
The home fans are ready, and they are already waving their flags proudly as the two teams enter the field of play.
Even though France failed to deliver the goods for their supporters this summer, they have never lost a match to Bosnia during their previous five meetings.
Deschamps turns to some of his biggest stars this evening, with Varane, Pogab, Benzema, Griezmann and Mbappe all handed starts, while the dangerous Dzeko starts for Bosnia.
BOSNIA (3-5-2): Ibrahim Sehic; Dennis Hadzikadunic, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Sinisa Sanicanin; Mateo Susic, Amir Hadziahmetovic, Miralem Pjanic, Gojko Cimirot, Sead Kolasinac; Edin Dzeko, Ermedin Demirovic.
SUBS: Mike Maignan, Anthony Martial, Theo Hernandez, Clement Lenglet, Kurt Zouma, Kingsley Coman, Aurelien Tchouameni, Steve Mandand, Leo Dubois, Moussa Diaby, N’Golo Kante.
FRANCE (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris; Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Presnel Kimpembe, Lucas Digne; Jordan Veretout, Paul Pogba, Thomas Lemar; Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe.
With games against Ukraine and Finland on the horizon, Deschamps will be desperate to see his side get the job done this evening. France are unbeaten in four matches on home soil, while Bosnia are without a win in five on their travels.
Didier Deschamps’ side can get back on track in Strasbourg this evening with a victory, and they will fancy their chances after beating Bosnia 1-0 back in March. France sit top of the group despite playing one less game than second-placed Ukraine, with Deschamps’ men three points clear at the top. Bosnia have one point to their name, thanks to their 2-2 draw against Finland.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of France’s clash against Bosnia-Herzegovina as the two teams resume their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Les Blues will be looking to prove a point after exiting Euro 2020 at the last-16 stage, while Bosnia are also looking to bounce back after failing to win any of their first two qualifiers.
A. Griezmann
Goal