EURO 2012 play-offs: Portugal and Bosnia have everything to play at Lisbon after draw in Zenica
Neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Edin Dzeko were in the best of forms in Zenica. Portugal and Bosnia played out a heated goalless draw in the Balkan state and have everything to play for in the return leg.
The glittering stars of both teams were unable to get anything out of the match in the 90 minutes. Tuesday night in Lisbon will now decide their fate, as participation in Euro 2012 hinges on a thin thread.
Despite the support of home fans, the Balkan team was unable to overcome http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Paulo-c29431 Bento’s defence in a hard fought clash which saw little success in the final meters of the pitch.
In the duel of stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edin Dzeko, no one was able to affect the final result. Dzeko could not get the better of Real Madrid stopper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ronaldo-c31734 missed a clear scoring chance in the second half.
With the Manchester City man unable to perform at his level best when marked by his opposing number from Los Blancos, Bosnia were resigned to finding a reference point in attack from their second line of attack. It was the perfect chance for Pjanic to shine
but he too, like his acclaimed teammate, failed to show his best.
Against this background, Portugal managed to dominate the match slightly but like the hosts, always without success. The intensity shown by Bosnia in early moments of the game faded quickly, which allowed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984 to regularly approach their penalty area.
The 68th minute introduction, Ibisevic, could have twice given the lead to the hosts but he rushed his shots into the welcoming hands of Rui Patricio. Failure to hit the back of the net did not go well with the fans as sighs were audible across the capacity
stadium.
Aware of the fact that a yellow would be mean http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 missing the second leg of the double header, the Balkan fans targeted the Real Madrid striker. Songs could be heard in the name of Messi and lasers were pointed at him all night long.
Lisbon is the place to be now, as Portuguese fans get ready to welcome Bosnia. The November 15 date will now decide which one of the two teams get the passport for Euro 2012 being held in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Poland-c2983.
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