Bosnian 🇧🇦 | tactics nerd | UEFA B youth coach | fell for Barbarez 2-1-7 "all-in" | breaking down BiH, opponents, World Cup tactics & FIFA WC26 in general
In my first thread, I’d like to break down Jesse Marsch’s Canada 🇨🇦 and share a few thoughts on how they match up against Bosnia & Herzegovina 🇧🇦
Every like, RT, comment, and bit of criticism is highly appreciated. Let’s enjoy a great World Cup together. ❤️
Jesse Marsch is heavily influenced by the “Red Bull philosophy” and learned his fundamentals under the “Red Bull architect” Ralf Rangnick, working as his assistant. Because of this, the key elements of his style are:
• Super aggressive high pressing
• A vertical playing style rather than patient buildup
• Structured zones and compactness
Let’s break them down. ⚡️
Gledajte klip do kraja (nije bait, majke mi!) Spahic galami cak i na lika.
Vrlo iritirajuci video snimio je i na YouTube stavio jedan od nasih „navijaca“ (krkana).
Lik bukvalno hoda po hotelu i trazi igrace.
a) Nasi igraci nisu pavijani u zooloskom.
b) Postoje odredjeni termini kada igraci daju vrijeme za slikanje, potpise itd.
c) Hajde da je lik, recimo, cak i usao u sobu kod Alajbegovica... sta onda?
Mislim da bi bilo dobro da se ovo prosiri preko vecih kanala (@BiHFootball@BosniaNTBall) ako je moguce, da se konacno uozbiljimo malo kao navijaci. Ovo je sramota.
Klip postavljen 40 sekundi. Ko zeli full YT video evo i link (mene stid gledat duze od minut): https://t.co/EkJOzlnzwi
@BosniaNTBall and also to you of course, thanks for sharing. ❤️might have helped (not trying to overestimate the BH twitter bubble power but looks like it started to spread the word with you and BiHFootball).
https://t.co/GxgOAFuW1G
@BiHFootball without overestimating the BH-twitter bubble but it looks like it has helped. So thanks for sharing ❤️. Klix has just reported that there will be a police presence from now on.
https://t.co/GxgOAFuW1G
@Bosniac0 Ili da uopste ne idu tamo. Pa valjda smo se vec ispozdravljali sa navijacmi u Sarajevu.
Znam da postoji velika dijaspora u St. Louisu ali valjda je za njih vec dovoljan „poklon“ samo to sto se prvenstvo igra u drzavi u kojoj zive? 🙄
World Cup guide za svakog (!) od 1248 igrača SP. Naš profil je pisao jedan jedini, legenda @sasaibrulj
(Mora da je Guardian slušao Opsajd podcast pa kazu vidi ovaj lik zna znanje) 😜
Enjoy!
https://t.co/9pQmOHCojw
💎💎Sjaji, sjaji, bosanski dijamantu, sjaji majstore!🇧🇦💎
Little fun fact... actually not little at all. It's huge.
When the whistle blows at 21:00 CET on Friday for the Canada vs BiH game, Edin Džeko will become the oldest European outfield player of all time and the first European outfield player to ever play beyond the age of 40. 🥹
I still remember the first time I saw Edin play (it was in the U21 playoff against Czechia). If someone had told me back then that this milestone would happen 20 years later, I would have thought they were crazy.
*Yes, I’m aware that Modrić and Ronaldo will follow suit. But… only one can be the first in the record books.😉
** The oldest outfield player is obviously Roger Milla, who is from Cameroon.
Kako Bosna i Hercegovina može zaustaviti Kanadu na Mundijalu 2026? Analiziramo Jesseja Marscha, Alphonsa Daviesa, Jonathana Davida, kanadski presing, slabosti i mogući plan Sergeja Barbareza. Link je u opisu profila. #worldcup2026#canada🇨🇦
@TheHomelyBaby@Zlatan_eee Agreed. However, Priso is super short for a CB (1.75m and thats measured very generous from an eye-test pov). I think Bombito will push it regardless.
I don’t want to be that guy, but injuries are part of the sport. I honestly hope they play their best squad against us (they would probably report on our injuries as well).
For me the game against Uzbekistan wasn’t worth mentioning too tbh (terrible pitch conditions, gazillion subs).
However, it is worth noting that their star centre-back, Moise Bombito limped off after being substituted after just 30 minutes (though that could have been the plan all along).
He was dragging his leg all game long.
We talked about the inverted wing-back a couple of weeks ago and Switzerland executed it perfectly during a simple build-up.
LWB Aebischer appears completely uninterested in the initial situation and stays glued to the left sideline. While Switzerland successfully traps Jordan into pressing on the Swiss right side, Aebischer drifts into the middle of the pitch and becomes wide open.
With one single pass Switzerland skips five players (basically half the team) leaving Aebischer with multiple options (he could even have carried the ball another 10-15 meters himself).
The Akanji pass to the keeper made Jordan commit to the right side for two seconds and it was enough. Aebischer seemed not dangerous enough for the right back of Jordan who had to cover the Winger Vargas anyway.
This was clearly planned as you can see by the unnatural movement of the keeper.
Let’s talk about 🇨🇭 Murat Yakin, known for even taking part in charity chess tournaments in Switzerland and his most important piece on the board: Granit Xhaka.
It’s not easy to reduce Switzerland to a single defining trait (as you might with Canada and their pressing). However, from our 🇧🇦 perspective, Switzerland may well be the strongest possession-based team we’ve faced since the UEFA Nations League matches against 🇩🇪.
They are a side that thrives on controlling the ball: patient in their build-up, versatile in their structures, and capable of varying their approach even within the same match.
Switzerland typically lines up in either a classic 4-3-3 (more recently) or a 3-4-3 (succesfull Euro 2024 campaign) which becomes a back five out of possession. Despite the different formations, both systems function in a very similar way, built around one key tactical feature: the inverted wing-back. This mechanism creates numerical superiority in vertical passing lanes and pulls opposing full-backs (in our case Amar Dedić) out of position, opening space for dangerous wide players (Vargas, Ndoye) and deep crosses from Ricardo Rodriguez.
In build-up play, the left wing-back in the 3-4-3 system (Aebischer or Rieder in examples provided) moves centrally, creating overloads and additional vertical passing options for Xhaka. Xhaka himself may drop into the back three or act as the link between defense and midfield. Meanwhile, the wingers and the “true” left-back, Rodríguez, maintain width.
This advanced build-up structure often gives the impression that Switzerland has more players on the pitch than their opponent.
Out of possession, the system shifts seamlessly into a back five, with Rodriguez reverting to a more traditional left-back role. The fluidity of this approach creates constant defensive dilemmas: marking assignments shift rapidly, and even a single error in communication can lead to overlaps and clear scoring chances.
@riadbobar He is not eligible in any way. We are mixing things up here. Croatia and Serbia have a citizenship in act which allows them to apply for a passport "by ethnicity". We do not have that agreement in place.
🇧🇦 We will have the most demanding travel schedule of the 2026 World Cup (and it’s not particularly close). That’s not really ideal, as not a single one of our players is used to anything like that. We’ll also have to deal with four different time zones
Source:
https://t.co/WAZjQhGaZF
The Canada squad was released yesterday. There were no major surprises, it looks like a very strong team and is arguably a lot better than the 2022 side.
On a side note, Jesse Marsch has pretty much ruled out Alphonso Davies for the match against us 🇧🇦.