Bašić penalty gives Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 win over Poland

Ivan Bašić scored an 84th-minute penalty as Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Poland 1-0 at Bilino Polje in Zenica on Monday, October 5. According to N1 Sarajevo, the victory left Sergej Barbarez's side second in their Nations League group, with eight points from four matches, two behind Sweden.

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The decisive attack came after substitute Esmir Bajraktarević advanced on the right and sent the ball into the penalty area, where Jovo Lukić was brought down. N1 reported that referee Jérémie Pignard checked the incident at the pitchside monitor before awarding the penalty. Bašić converted, and Poland were unable to find an equaliser.

Bosnia had already been denied a breakthrough early in the second half. Haris Tabaković put the ball in the net in the 48th minute, but the goal was ruled out because the offside Ermedin Demirović had interfered with play. At the other end, Nikola Katić had made a goal-line clearance before the interval.

The match figures recorded by theScore underline how little separated the teams on the scoreboard despite Poland's greater share of possession. The visitors had four shots on target to Bosnia's one and won eight corners to the hosts' two. Neither side received a red card, while each collected three yellow cards before an attendance of 11,700.

Bašić explained afterwards that he had not been the first-choice penalty taker. In comments reported by Sportske.ba, he said Tabaković had been designated for that responsibility but had already left the field, leaving him to step forward. The midfielder acknowledged feeling some nerves as he prepared to take the kick, describing that reaction as normal.

Speaking about the performance, Bašić said the match had been difficult and that the pitch was not in its best condition, while also accepting that his team had not necessarily been at its best. He pointed to first-half opportunities and credited the players' togetherness for the eventual reward. The result was Bosnia's second win of this Nations League campaign.