Inter striker Edin Dzeko is happy to have fought for a point in his first World Cup qualifier of the international break against France with the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Speaking to Bosnian news outlet Klix after the match, the 35-year-old who is the nation’s captain expressed his satisfaction at the result and praised his teammates for their performances.
Dzeko got on the scoresheet early against the current world champions before an Antoine Griezmann equalizer towards the end of the first half and then a Jules Kounde red card early in the second meant that the two sides would share the spoils with a draw.
The point is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second of the qualifying campaign, leaving them level on points with Kazakhstan and Finland, but only two behind Ukraine in second spot in their group and very much in the running to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Dzeko is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s all-time record appearance-maker and goal-scorer, and he showed yesterday why that is, and why the Nerazzurri wanted to bring him in from Roma this summer.
“Surely no one expected such a result before the match,” he said of the match. “Maybe not even us, but football is like that, ninety minutes are played, the ball is round and everything is possible. We played a great game.”
He went on, “We conceded an unfortunate goal in the first half, but it was balanced by the red card they got. The second half was very different and if they had eleven remaining it would have certainly been much more difficult for us to take home a point.”
The 35-year-old explained, “It was a pretty difficult match. Maybe some will say that we should have brought home all three points in the second half, but a point against France is a great result.”
He concluded, “If we had started more aggressively, we could have conceded a goal. This is an important point for the morale of this team, which is very young and has proven to be on the right path.”