November 18 (2013)

Bosnia-Herzegovina has a “home” match at Busch Stadium against Argentina before a wildly partisan Bosnian crowd of 30,397. But Argentina, even without injured superstar Lionel Messi, wins the international friendly, 2-0, with both goals scored by Sergio Aguero. St. Louis, the home to more Bosnians than anywhere else outside of Bosnia-Herzegovina itself, backs Bosnia’s team to the hilt. “It’s crazy,” Vedad Ibisevic tells Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We made these people happy, especially people that live here. . . . It’s great to be back.” Ibisevic, who spent his teenage years in St. Louis and his freshman season at St. Louis University, creates perhaps the best chance for Bosnia, but his shot goes wide of the net in the first half. Aguero scores in the 39th and 66th minutes.The game is a tuneup for the 2014 World Cup. As fate will have it, Bosnia-Herzegovina will open the World Cup against Argentina in Group F, and will lose, 2-1, despite a goal from Ibisevic. Bosnia-Herzegovina will not advance to the knockout stage. Argentina will go all the way to the final, where it will lose to Germany, 1-0, on a goal by Mario Gotze in added extra time.