Bosnia-Herzegovina coach Safet Susic said his team paid the price for stage fright in its opening World Cup game against Argentina, which the favorite won, 2-1, thanks to a moment ofbrilliance from star player Lionel Messi. The Bosnians rarely looked second-best against the Albiceleste, but were ultimately made to pay for an unlucky Sead Kolasinac own goal and afantastic second from Messi, before St. Louis University alum Vedad Ibisevic pulled one back late in the game.
“As I said yesterday the objective was to make it as difficult as we canfor Argentina, the favorites to win the World Cup, and I think we played well in both halves,” Susic said in his post-game press conference. “When you play Argentina you have to play well and alsohave a great deal of luck. It was only because of the psychological pressure that we looked as if we had run out of steam a little bit in the closing stages.”
He added: “We hope that thegoal we scored will mean a lot to us in the upcoming games. We will probably need to amass four or even six points to go through but I told the lads this wasn’t the crucial match. I am convinced thatwe still have everything to play for. Watching Argentina is one thing but playing against them is another. They are a great team with outstanding individuals and we definitely have no regrets.”