Bosnia fought back to claim only their second point of their Nations League campaign as they held the Netherlands to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday evening at the Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica.
With nothing riding on the match, an already-qualified Oranje fielded a much-rotated side. For Bosnia, it wasn’t as an outing positive as they’d liked for Edin Dzeko’s international send-off.
Brian Brobbey gave the Dutch the lead in the 24th minute before Ermedin Demirovic restored parity midway through the second half. The hosts chased a positive result in an effort to appease their record scorer’s departure, however, this draw stretched their 13-month winless streak to 12 games.
After the Netherlands had already secured second place in the group, and a spot in the quarter-finals in March, with a 4-0 win over Hungary on Saturday, Ronald Koeman fielded an entirely fresh lineup for their last fixture in Group A3. On the contrary, Bosnia’s relegation from the top tier of the Nations League was confirmed after losing 7-0 to Germany at the same time.
Brobbey headed home his first international goal from Noa Lang’s cross, flicking the ball backward with his head from a pin-point delivery.
He also had an effort soon after chalked off for offside as did Dzeko, once in the first half and again in the 67th minute after a characteristically slick touch. The 38-year-old Bosnia captain was making his 139th and last appearance for his country after scoring 67 goals.
It was Dzeko’s powerful shot, blocked by goalkeeper Mark Flekken, that led to the equaliser, with the rebound seized upon by Demirovic.
The Dutch could’ve snatched victory in stoppage time when 18-year-old defender Jorrel Hato had a chance to win it but blasted his shot over the crossbar. Oranje captain Stefan de Vrij commented after the match, as the Netherlands finish with nine points (W2 D3 L1):
“It was a game to learn from. It wasn’t the easiest game and it’s a pity we couldn’t finish the campaign with a win.”
