I will begin by paying tribute to our fantastic team. They were so good. They truly exceeded my expectations and we really deserved to win. Unfortunately the match ended 1-1 when France scored in an unfear penalty, which was the same as a loss for us. It wasn't unexpected. The happiness when we scored was absolutely indescribable and worth the whole trip, I think we all fell off the chairs, but for the rest of the game we waited for what always happens when we play a crucial match against one of the "big" teams. Eventually the judge will give enough cards, penalties or extra minutes for us to stumble across the finish line. We should be used to it, but it hurts just as much every time. It would have been easier if France kicked our ass totally instead. Non-Bosnians too admit that we deserved to win, and even some Frenchmen admitted that we were better.

I must also pay tribute to us, all Bosnians from all over the world who went to Paris for the game. We were over 20,000 Bosnians, a quarter of the packed stadium, and was just as hyped as usual. We marched around and sang a few hours before we got to the stadium and still had the energy to stand up and cheer constantly throughout the match. I read that a French reporter said that it has never happened before that the other teams fans were louder than the French at their home arena. It doesn't matter how many times we stumble across the finish line, we will continue to cheer with the same hope. Next time we need hope is when we play against Portugal in the playoffs, again.