Miralem Pjanic Shines in Bosnia-Herzegovina's Victory Over Iran

Facing their final moments on the World Cup stage, Miralem Pjanic and Bosnia-Herzegovina did not disappoint, running the Iranians off the field in a fairly one-sided 3-1 affair, the Dragons first ever World Cup victory. While BIH won't be advancing to the knockout stages, today's performance was enough to ensure they didn't finish last in Group F. And who knows, had they opened up against Iran, perhaps they could have carried that momentum into a second place finish.

Led by Pjanic, the Dragons dominated Iran from minute one to minute ninety. BIH kept nearly two-thirds of possession, outshot Iran 12-7, completed 87% of their passes, created nine chances to Iran's two, and made fools of Iranian defenders to the tune of 15 dribbles, seven-and-a-half times as many as Iran managed.

This was probably what many people envisioned when Bosnia-Herzegovina qualified; an up-tempo attack spurred on by the creativity and movement of Pjanic and finished off by Eden Dzeko. In fact, the two teamed up for the Dragon's first goal, with Pjanic feeding Dzeko from midfield, catching the forward in stride, who then placed it perfectly into the far post to give Bosnia the early lead.

For the afternoon, Pjanic made 97 touches, completed 88% of his passes, created two scoring chances, pulled off two dribbles, drew four fouls, set up Dzeko's goal and scored his own. It was a busy and productive match for Pjanic, who certainly exited the World Cup stage on a high note.

Pjanic's Goal

Nothing terribly fascinating on this one, but Pjanic managed to stay onside and got off a quick shot before two Iranian defenders could close down on him, which he then calmly slotted into the far post to put the match effectively out of reach for Iran.

All told, Pjanic played each and every minute for his country in the World Cup, completed 89% of his passes, created 12 scoring chances, set up one goal and scored another. As far as Bosnia's offense was concerned, Miralem Pjanic was both the keymaster and gatekeeper, the alpha and the omega, the peanut butter and the jelly.

Pretty impressive stuff from Miralem, now go get some rest, we've got to conquer Europe.