Bosnia and Herzegovina were held to a 0-0 draw by North Macedonia (listed as FYR Macedonia in match data) in Sarajevo on Friday night, leaving head coach Sergej Barbarez still searching for fluency ahead of the autumn grind. His 4-3-3 again delivered control without incision against Blagoja Milevski’s compact 3-4-3.
The hosts monopolised the ball with 69 percent possession, yet the first half drifted without a decisive action. Bosnia’s front three recycled the ball neatly, but Milevski’s first defensive line stayed compact and Bojan Miovski never had a counter to chase. Everything resembled a training exercise until the interval reset the contest.
Barbarez changed seven outfielders at the break, sending on Dženis Burnić, Dennis Hadžikadunić, Amar Memić, Amir Hadžiahmetović, Nidal Čelik, Ermin Mahmić and Ermedin Demirović. The plan was to raise the tempo and stress the depth chart, and although Demirović offered a stronger presence between the lines and Burnić moved the ball briskly, Bosnia still finished with only three shots on target.
Milevski matched that upheaval. Darko Churlinov, Agon Elezi and Imran Fetai were among the reinforcements at the restart, and further switches on 59 minutes introduced Nikola Serafimov, Milan Ristovski and goalkeeper Damjan Shishkovski to manage workloads. The approach prioritised resilience, and when Ezgjan Alioski entered for Eljif Elmas in the 70th minute he provided an outlet until his yellow card for a foul in the 78th minute stalled that momentum.
Tarik Muharemović replaced Stjepan Radeljić in the 49th minute to keep Bosnia high up the pitch, and Arjan Malić came on for Benjamin Tahirović on the hour to sustain the press. Martin Zlomislić faced only one shot on target all evening, while the North Macedonian goalkeeping tandem of Stole Dimitrievski and Shishkovski combined for three saves—the most telling statistic from a night that never rose above sparring speed.
Key statistics:
- Shots: Bosnia & Herzegovina 13, North Macedonia 2
- Shots on target: Bosnia & Herzegovina 3, North Macedonia 1
- Possession: Bosnia & Herzegovina 69 percent, North Macedonia 31 percent
- Fouls: Bosnia & Herzegovina 12, North Macedonia 19
- Corners: Bosnia & Herzegovina 2, North Macedonia 1
- Yellow cards: Bosnia & Herzegovina 0, North Macedonia 1 (Ezgjan Alioski 78th minute)
Bosnia now move on needing more end-product before the next international window. North Macedonia can point to their structure but will need greater attacking ambition to trouble stronger opponents. For a wider look at this international slate, keep an eye on Mexico vs Australia and South Korea vs Trinidad and Tobago over the weekend.
Matchday squads
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: Martin Zlomislić, Osman Hadžikić, Nikola Vasilj, Amar Dedić, Nikola Katić, Stjepan Radeljić, Nihad Mujakić, Tarik Muharemović, Dennis Hadžikadunić, Sead Kolašinac, Nidal Čelik, Arjan Malić, Kerim Alajbegović, Dženis Burnić, Armin Gigović, Benjamin Tahirović, Amir Hadžiahmetović, Ivan Bašić, Ermin Mahmić, Esmir Bajraktarević, Samed Baždar, Jovo Lukić, Amar Memić, Ermedin Demirović, Edin Džeko.
- North Macedonia: Stole Dimitrievski, Damjan Shishkovski, Davor Taleski, Visar Musliu, Darko Velkovski, Gjoko Zajkov, Georgije Jankulov, Sebastian Herrera, Imran Fetai, Nikola Serafimov, Jovan Manev, Stefan Despotovski, Amar Stojčevski, Boban Nikolov, Jani Atanasov, Agon Elezi, Darko Angjeleski, Sefer Emini, Eljif Elmas, Ezgjan Alioski, Tihomir Kostadinov, Enis Bardhi, Agim Ibraimi, Bojan Miovski, Milan Ristovski, Darko Churlinov, Elmin Rastoder, Azer Omeragikj, Darko Dodev, Dardan Iliev, Ljupčo Doriev, Deni Iliev, Deni Musovski, Liridon Qamili, Aleksandar Trajkovski, Ridvan Ramadani, Leke Stankovski.
