Will Portugal Overcome Bosnia Without Ronaldo?

Portugal will most likely be missing Cristiano Ronaldo when it hosts Bosnia-Herzegovina on 11/14/09 as it looks to build some momentum prior to the return leg in Bosnia on the 18th of November. Unfortunately for the Portuguese the latest report claims Ronaldo will be out for about a month which means he will not feature in both matches for the national team.

It is hard to determine the extent of the damage that Portugal will suffer as a result of his absence yet his performances during the qualifiers have been mediocre at best by his standards. Regardless of previous displays, missing out on the current world player of the year is definitely not an encouraging sign, in particular when the opponent is a dangerous Bosnian side full of offensive menace. While Bosnia’s defense remains susceptible, which would have meant more chances for Ronaldo to shine, the country’s attack features some lethal forwards in the shape of Edin Dzeko (pictured above right), Vedad Ibisevic, and Zvjezdan Misimovic. The Bosnian national team registered 25 goals in the group stage, trailing only England, Spain and Germany in the goals scored by any national team in European qualifiers. It would be wrong to assume the Bosnian team is limited to a potent attack although the defense has leaked 13 goals during the campaign. The Bosnians also have the advantage of playing the return leg on home soil.

On the other hand and despite the likely absence of Ronaldo, Portugal will still have its plethora of stars with Chelsea’s Deco, Manchester United’s Nani and of course defenders Pepe (Real Madrid), Jose Bosingwa & Ricardo Carvalho (both Chelsea), Atletico de Madrid’s Simao Sabrosa. The Portuguese side might have sneaked into the play-offs after a stuttering start, yet the fixture list featured a single defeat and revealed a water-tight defense which conceded a mere give goals in a group which also included Denmark and Sweden. It will be an interesting tussle between Portugal’s stingy defense and Bosnia’s elusive attack force. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to underestimate the set of skills that defines Portugal’s creative players such as Deco. One factor that may serve in Bosnia’s favour is the experience of the shrewd coach Miroslav Blazevic who led Croatia to the semi-finals in France 1998 when the French eliminated the Croatians on route to the World Cup triumph.

With Ronaldo missing, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the Portuguese players react and whether they will work hard together in order to offset his absence. On the other side, a hungry opponent in the shape of the Bosnian players will try to feed off the frenzy that has been created by the advancement to this stage of the qualifiers. Let the fireworks begin in what should be a cracking game between two sides more than capable of scoring on their day.