Mexico vs. Bosnia: Bosnia Must Put on Solid Show to Recover from Loss to Ireland

Bosnia-Herzegovina's 1-0 loss to Ireland on Saturday did not tell the full story, as they were bullied by the Irish in a match that should have ended with a much uglier score. And if they want to have any semblance of confidence going forward, they'll need a bounce-back effort against Mexico at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday night.

Thanks to goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, the Bosnians were able to stay within one in Saturday's tilt, but they easily could have suffered a much uglier defeat.

The Bosnians are usually technically sound, relying on their strategy to beat their opponents, but that wasn't the case in this one as they strayed from their game against the superior Irish club.

On the defensive end, they'll have to be much better against Mexico. Specifically, Mensur Mujdza will have to regroup after he struggled against Ireland's James McClean in the first half. If Mujdza is not better against the Mexican attack that is much superior to McClean and the Irish, Bosnia is in for a long night.

The Bosnians weren't completely outclassed by Ireland, but being outplayed by a team that is inferior to Mexico certainly doesn't give Safet Susic's boys any confidence leading up to their clash on Thursday. The Mexican attackers are much better than their Irish counterparts, so Susic and company will need Emir Spahic and Mujdza to play like the catalysts that they are on the back line.

If the Bosnian defenders let Mexico do what Ireland did in the highlight below, the Mexicans are going to score early and often. They can't let the Mexican attackers gain space to make crosses, and they can't allow guys like Aldo de Nigris to win aerial contests near the goal.

One advantage that Bosnia might have is that it isn't definitive Mexican star forward Javier Hernandez will play in the match, as he may need some more rest for the club's match against Brazil, according to SB Nation. That doesn't eliminate Bosnia's problems though, as de Nigris scored two goals against Wales in place of Hernandez.

Vedad Ibisevic was a disappointment against Ireland, showing signs of life in the first 45 before fading in the second half. He is one of the premier attackers on his club, and he'll need to take advantage of the average Mexican defense for Bosnia to have any chance.

Ibisevic and his teammates need to start strong against Mexico, as their failure to do so against Ireland was one of the deciding factors. Ibisevic couldn't capitalize on two prime chances within the first 10 minutes, shooting over the net in the fourth minute, then failing to score on a cross from Edin Dzeko in the ninth.

Bosnia hasn't won since October 7 against Luxembourg, and while the 5-0 victory is a wide margin, the win against such inferior competition is hardly comforting. If Bosnia can't show themselves that they can at least compete against Mexico, their upcoming matches against Wales, Liechtenstein and Latvia could all end in disaster.

The defense was simply brutal against Ireland, and their attackers were inaccurate. When the best player of the match for a team is the goalie, chances are the match will not end in a win. 

The Bosnians don't have to win this match and they are unlikely to, but they need to keep it close and at least achieve somewhat of a moral victory to hang their hats on.