Bosnia and Herzegovina manager Sergej Barbarez has called for bravery and efficiency from his team ahead of their UEFA Nations League match against Romania. The game will be played on Monday at 20:45 CET at the National Arena in Bucharest behind closed doors.

Barbarez told a pre-match press conference that he expects a physically demanding contest, similar to last year's World Cup qualifiers where BiH won both meetings. "The players handled the match against Poland well, after which they had enough time to recover," Barbarez said. He added that his final team selection would depend on assessing player fitness.

Forward Haris Tabaković agreed it would be a difficult match and that past victories would not affect their approach. He noted he could not recall playing an international match without a crowd since the coronavirus pandemic. The visitors arrive in the Romanian capital following a 0-0 draw with Poland in their Nations League opener last Friday. That was the second draw in a five-match winless run for BiH, whose recent form reads DLLLD.

The manager stated that the hosts, who lost to Sweden in their first match, will be under additional pressure. "We have to play bravely and take advantage of our opportunities," Barbarez said. While acknowledging the quality of the Romanian players, he expressed confidence his team could exploit spaces on the counter-attack. The absence of fans in the stands, a sanction for previous supporter infractions, could reduce the intimidation factor for BiH's younger players.

Bosnia and Herzegovina enter this fixture seeking a first win after a run of five matches without one. Besides the draw with Poland, the team has lost to Switzerland and the USA, and drawn with Canada and Panama.

Nailo Omerović has been moved to the stands, while Luka Đurić remains available for a potential senior international debut. Romania coach Gheorghe Hagi has made several changes to his squad to refresh the tactical approach. The match will be broadcast live on BHRT. Following this match, the national team will return to preparations for the next challenges in the Nations League, and the full squad and statistics are always available on the squad page.

The report in full is at sarajevotimes.com