Bosnia coach pledges to attack against France

Bosnia coach Safet Susic vowed on Monday that his side would attack France in their Euro 2012 qualifier and said he would not make major changes to the team that defeated Luxembourg last week.

“We will try to win. We do not know to play in a different manner and we are a team that does not know how to stay back,” Susic told journalists ahead of Tuesday’s match in Sarajevo.

Bosnia currently hold first position in Group D, after defeating Luxembourg 3-0 on Friday in their opening qualifying match.

France prevailed 2-1 in a friendly game on their last visit to Sarajevo in 2006, but they approach Tuesday’s game in a fragile state after the shock of their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Belarus in Paris last week.

Susic said his players would try to “take advantage of a moment when everything is against the French”.

“Their players do not have faith in the team and I believe that this is their weakness. It’s like when you get ill suddenly and you need time to get well,” he added.

“If we win, then everything will open up for us and Bosnia could finally hope to take part in a big event.”

Bosnia have never participated in a European Championship or a World Cup as an independent nation.

Susic did not reveal his team, saying that “only one change” was possible to the side that started the win over Luxembourg, which featured two strikers and three attacking midfielders.

“I expect that we will score two goals at least. Because if we don’t score two then we will concede one or two,” Susic said.

Bosnia’s star striker Edin Dzeko told journalists on Monday that he was wary of a “wounded” French team that would want to “redeem themselves” in Sarajevo after their loss against Belarus.