BiH soccer coach Bazdarevic hopes for win over Israel

The national soccer team of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was ready to take revenge on Israel in the match on Friday, said coach Mehmed Bazdarevic on Wednesday.

During an interview with Xinhua, Bazdarevic admitted he was nervous.

"I am nervous, very nervous. But I manage to keep it to myself...Every game we're about to play is crucial and if we want to qualify (UEFA EURO 2016 finals), we have to play each game as if it was the last match," he said.

"For me, as a coach, (the match against Israel) will be one of the most important matches in my life, and I'm excited," he continued.

Bazdarevic, however, noted his team was in good shape, and that his players wanted to win the match.

"The atmosphere in the team was great. We have excellent conditions and it is a huge pleasure to work in such an environment...Everything is all right now and we are aware of what awaits us. We must continue preparing ourselves because we want to win in the match."

Bazdarevic became the coach after BiH lost to Israel 3-0 under Safet Susic, who was forced to quit afterwards.

The match against Israel on Friday would the second one for Bazdarevic as coach of BiH, followed by a 3-0 win over Andorra. The victory was also the first win for BiH in the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers.

Bazdarevic said that some key players, such as Edin Dzeko, didn't play the match against Israel back in November, 2014.

He was confident BiH will be a stronger team on Friday. "We spent a lot of time analyzing Israel and we are ready to take revenge. A match in Zenica is a real opportunity for that, since the situation in the team is much better than it was then. I strongly believe that in front of a full stadium we will show a totally different face."

The Israeli team is scheduled to arrive in Sarajevo Wednesday night to prepare for the match in Zenica.

After five matches, BiH was in fifth in Group B with just 5 points, with Israel in third place with 9 points. Endi