Portugal seeks eastern promise

For the second straight time in a major soccer tournament, Portugal and Bosnia-Herzegovina were paired in the playoff draw after the denouement of the group stages, both having failed to clinch automatic qualification. Portugal required just a point from its final match in Denmark - the sides were tied on points but Portugal had the advantage of a better head-to-head record - but the home side booked its own place in Poland and Ukraine with a 2-1 win. Bosnia, too, played an all-or-nothing match against France, which it trailed by a point before the final group game in Paris. A 1-1 tie was sufficient for Les Bleus to top Group D, condemning Bosnia to the playoffs once again.

The first match of the two-leg encounter takes place on Friday (8pm, GolTV Multigol) in Bosnia's Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, a claustrophobic 15,000-seater that Roma playmaker Miralem Pjanic believes could give the home side an edge: "A goalless tie in the first leg would be a good result for us but we know we can score against anyone and I am optimistic that Portugal will be rattled by the fervent support for us in the cauldron of Bilino Polje."

Bosnia will look to star striker Edin Dzeko, who has scored 13 goals in 14 starts for Manchester City this season, to keep Portugal keeper Rui Patricio on his toes.

"There is a big difference between the two encounters," said Portugal coach Paolo Bento of the 2009 World Cup playoff and Friday's encounter. "Bosnia is a quality side and is more mature, especially in the cases of Pjanic and Dzeko."

The current form of Bosnia's midfield schemer and its goal scorer is good news for coach Safet Susic, who faces problems with his back line that the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani will be keen to exploit. "I knew little about the side I would select for the Portugal game and I am none the wiser now," the former Paris Saint Germain virtuoso told Bosnian state television. "It's not just the defense giving me a headache, it's the midfield too because we have a lot of attack-minded players and with a team structured like that you have to score at least two or three goals to beat any opposition. And that's not going to be easy against a team of Portugal's quality."

Three of Bosnia's first choice defenders are unavailable: Boris Pandza and Sasa Papic through suspension and Mensur Mujdza with a broken leg.

Portugal also has its own problems at the back after a very public falling out between Bento and two of his defenders, Ricardo Carvalho of Real Madrid and José Bosingwa of Chelsea. Carvalho retired from international soccer after a war of words with Bento before the qualifying match against Cyprus, after which he stalked from the training session. Bosingwa, meanwhile, has stated that he will not represent Portugal again while Bento remains at the helm.

Nevertheless, Portugal's traditional strength is in the forward line, where Ronaldo and Nani are the current standard-bearers for a proud lineage. Both the Real goal machine and the Manchester United winger are in sterling form, the former bagging four hat-tricks already this season. Ronaldo missed the playoff in 2009 through injury, which Portugal won courtesy of two 1-0 victories.

Former Bosnia coach Miroslav Blazevic, who guided Croatia to the World Cup semifinals in 1998, believes Bosnia will advance: "Portugal has Ronaldo but Dzeko has become a world-class player and this Bosnia team is much better than the one I was in charge of," he said.

Another factor working in the home side's favor is the state of the turf in Zenica. The Portuguese federation asked Uefa for a venue change as its side "has never played on such a bad pitch."