"It matters a great deal who is going to win, but not at all who won"
Bosnia
In the build-up to the Argentina Bosnia game the crowd was asked to celebrate the Maracanã stadium’s birthday. It was 64 years old! That was a first for me! The old lady looked magnificent after her recent facelift.I was sitting behind one goal, largely surrounded by Argentinian fans who seemed the spend the whole match standing up, dancing around, waving flags and taking endless selfies. That certainly created a lively atmosphere but was a bit annoying if you wanted to watch the game and had a large Argentinean dancing in front of you the whole time!
Bosnia had waited 1,000 years to become an independent country and 12 years to reach their first ever World Cup. Conceding an own goal in the second minute was not the start they had hoped for. They recovered well and held their own against the Argentine until Lionel Messi scored a wonder goal in the 65th minute. Bosnia pulled a goal back late in the game and Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko came close to equalizing
It ended 2-1 leaving Argentina in pole position in the group but Bosnia far from disgraced.
J Stuart Weir
Photo: Getty Images for Sony