BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Ultimately sunk by a moment of magic from Lionel Messi, the Bosnia-Herzegovina squad emerged with plenty of credit - but no points - from its World Cup debut against Argentina.
Thankfully for them, it should get easier in Group F.
Nigeria may be the African champion but the team won't have a player anywhere near the standard of Messi when it takes on Bosnia today in what is a pivotal match in the likely tussle for second place in the group.
Nigeria was held to a scoreless draw by Iran in its opening game, so qualification for the knockout stage is wide open in the group. And given how they troubled Argentina for much of the 2-1 defeat in Rio de Janeiro, the Bosnians are still being given a strong chance to advance.
A country ravaged by war two decades ago, Bosnia-Herzegovina is proud just to be on world football's biggest stage for the first time.
Against Nigeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina coach Safet Susic has pledged to return Vedad Ibisevic, who scored after coming on as a substitute, to the starting lineup and, therefore, play two up front alongside Edin Dzeko. That's the approach they went with in qualifying and the Bosnians were one of Europe's most free-scoring teams, netting 30 goals in 10 games.
Reaching the knockout stage for only the third time is motivation in itself, but Nigeria's players are even more determined to succeed in Brazil in the wake of a suicide bombing attack Tuesday against a World Cup viewing site in the northeast of their home country. Police said 14 people were killed and at least 26 wounded in the blast.
"We know that beating Bosnia will not bring back the lives of all those who are dead," said Emmanuel Attah, the team's coordinator, "but then it is our own way of saying, "Sorry for the loss.'"