Bosnia-Herzegovina
Fifa ranking: 30
Whatโs their footballing history like? The 1998 World Cup was the first tournament they attempted to qualify for after gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1992. Since then, they have qualified for a major tournament just once โ the 2014 World Cup.
How did they end up in the play-offs? They finished third in a group that also included Wales and Belgium, who qualified automatically, and Israel, Cyprus and Andorra, who were below them ultimately.
Who is their key player? Probably their captain Edin Dลพeko, formerly of Man City, who has an impressive 44 goals in 74 appearances at international level, though he has been struggling with a knee injury of late.
Have Ireland played them before? Yes, in a 2012 friendly just before the Euros โ Ireland won 1-0 thanks to a Shane Long goal.
What is their likely starting lineup? (4-3-3) Asmir Begovic (Chelsea); Mensur Mujdza (Freiburg), Toni Sunjic (Stuttgart), Emir Spahic (Hoffenheim), Ervin Zukanovic (Sampdoria); Miralem Pjanic (Roma), Anel Hadzic (Sturm Graz), Sejad Salihovic (Guizhou Renhe); Vedad Ibisevic (Hertha Berlin), Edin Dzeko (Roma), Senad Lulic (Lazio).
Will Ireland fancy their chances? They boast some relatively high-profile players and have a considerably better Fifa ranking, so it wasnโt the kindest of draws.
A version of this piece was originally published on 14 October
Where ????
Rochdale ?
Heโd beat Utd routinely from there as well baby!
Arsenal, good manager..
Ireland anyone ha ha โฆhello red thumbs..
I donโt get the criticism of the man.
Chelsea were already off the pace in the league and basically out of the champions league when he took over.
He has them in the latter stages of two competitions and could well win both and yet all he gets is knocked.
Any club in England would be lucky to have him and hicks and Gillette left liverpool in an awful state, not rafa
Of course he wants to manage a top club. He doesnโt know how to manage without throwing money at new, usually terrible, signings. Mancini and Mourinho used to have Serie A won by November then they give Benitez a job and he makes a fool of himself every week by telling the press he needs 2 years to build etc. He did well with Valencia although they had good players back then and fair enough he won the CL but he left Liverpool in a terrible state.
Everton maybe, if moyeโs leaves.
Why would a big club go for such a small manager?