Bosnia Revives World Cup Hopes as Romania Collapses; Denmark Draw Complicates hungarian Playoff Path
Zenica, Bosnia – Bosnia and Herzegovina kept their automatic World Cup qualification hopes alive with a dramatic 3-1 victory over Romania on Friday, fueled by a late surge and a Romanian collapse marked by a red card and defensive errors. Edin Dzeko, at 39 years old, scored his 72nd goal in 145 appearances for teh national team to equalize shortly after halftime. The decisive blow came in the 80th minute from 20-year-old winger Esmir Bajraktarevic, who scored from 19 meters.A goal in extra time sealed the win for Bosnia.
The match was marred by fan protests before halftime, with home supporters setting off firecrackers in response to issues with the association. Romania’s situation deteriorated further in the 68th minute when substitute Denis Dragus was shown a straight red card for a foul at midfield. Video of the incident is available here.
Elsewhere in qualifying, a draw between Denmark and Belarus has intricate the path for Hungary to secure a favorable playoff position. Denmark and scotland remain locked in a tight race for Group C leadership. Despite nearly surrendering a 3-0 lead, Greece held on to defeat Scotland 3-2, despite playing the final minutes with ten men after anastaszios Bakaszetasz received a red card in the 84th minute.
Belarus almost upset Denmark, but Gustav Isaksen’s 79th-minute equalizer secured a 1-1 draw for the Danes. Denmark now leads Scotland by a single point,setting up a crucial showdown between the two nations on Tuesday to determine the group winner.
Should Scotland win, Denmark will be relegated to the playoffs but would still be placed in the frist hat for the draw. This outcome would guarantee Hungary’s placement in the second hat, provided they finish second in their own group on Sunday.
In other results, Switzerland defeated Sweden 4-1, and Kosovo secured a historic 2-0 victory over Slovenia while playing with ten men from the 53rd minute, qualifying them for the additional qualifiers for the first time.
