Bosnia and Herzegovina – Iceland

The home team’s desire to win will lead to at least two goals in the match

The Icelandic and Bosnian teams were drawn in the same group as Portugal, Slovakia, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Given the relative weakness of the latter two teams, and the year-on-year instability shown by the Slovaks, it could well be the two sides clashing over one of the two Euro 2024 berths. Bookmakers have identified the home side as the favourites to win this meeting, with an odds of 1.85 to win. Bosnia and Herzegovina have a squad worth €78.3 million, according to transfermarkt. The team are ranked 57th in the FIFA rankings, with almost all of their players playing outside the national championship. The Icelandic team are worth three times less than their upcoming opponents, at €27.65m. The island team are ranked 63rd in the FIFA rankings, with all of their players playing outside of Iceland. Bosnia and Herzegovina are favourites in Zenica not only because of the home-field factor. After failing to qualify for the Mundial, the Bosnian side enjoyed impressive success in the League of Nations last year. In the B-League, Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated each of their opponents once, losing only to Romania in the final round. That gave them top spot in the quartet and earned them the right to play in the next Liga A season alongside Europe's top teams. Iceland have undergone a generation change that has been rather painful for them. The Islanders were in Group B of last year's Nations League with Israel and Albania without risk of relegation due to Russia's disqualification. In their four encounters, the Icelanders neither won nor lost, finishing 1-1 or 2-2 in all competitions. Despite their downgraded status, they have been relatively productive in their matches. Before the Nations League, Iceland had participated in the World Cup qualifiers, in the ten matches of which only once failed to score at least two goals. Bosnia and Herzegovina will try to beat their rivals on home soil, which will provoke an average to high-scoring encounter.