The holders of the World Cup, France, opposed with 10 men to a 1–1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, before resuming their campaign for qualification for the 2022 final in Qatar. Bosnia took the lead in the 36th minute of the football match but just after three minutes, Antoine Griezmann helped France to equalize.
Edin Dzeko gave Bosnia the first-half lead in Strasbourg on Wednesday, but Griezmann brought back Griezmann shortly after a header and crossed the line to restore parity. France were interrupted by expulsion from Sevilla defender Jules Koundé in the 51st minute for a formidable attack on Sead Kolasinac from Arsenal.
The disappointing result, even after a disappointing exit from the final at Euro 2020, keeps France in Group D and automatically qualified for the next World Cup. It has eight points from four matches, four more than second-placed Ukraine, which drew 2-2 in Kazakhstan on Wednesday and hosted France in Kyiv over the weekend.
France coach Didier Deschamps told, “It’s obviously tough with 10 men. We had some chances, but it’s not the result we were looking for. Of course, we wanted three points, but these qualifying drives are tough for everyone. We have one more point and we will have to see more in the remaining matches.”
Koundé’s red card and Griezmann’s goal both brought to the fore a late VAR introduced by UEFA for World Cup qualifiers – it was not used in the first three rounds of matches in March but is now widely used across the continent as soon as possible.
After Swiss officials analyzed the images, Griezmann’s goal went out of line, despite efforts by Bosnian goalkeeper Ibrahim Šehić to clear it. Jules Kounde was originally shown a yellow card for his reckless attack on Sead Kolasinac but was updated to red after the VAR review. Watch football highlights of France and Bosnia draw from the World Cup qualifiers match.
