Before each game in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup adventure, Sarajevo has blossomed with primary colours – and two distinct flags.

One is the national flag dating to 1998: blue and yellow diagonal halves emblazoned with a slanting line of white stars. The other has golden lilies on a blue shield set against a white background, and has a far deeper history, steeped in centuries of complexity. Its striking resurgence as a national symbol, showcased during Bosnia’s

Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo has ⁠been given a five-match ban after receiving a ⁠red card ⁠for ​a tackle which seriously injured Canada midfielder Ismael ⁠Kone, Fifa said on Wednesday.

Qatar suffered a heavy ⁠6-0 defeat by Canada in ​their second ‌Group B ‌game, during which Kone sustained a ‌broken leg following a clumsy second-half tackle from Madibo.

The Fifa Disciplinary Committee imposed a five-match suspension for serious foul play, ‌a decision which is subject to appeal to the ​FIFA Appeal Committee. Kone has undergone surgery and Madibo and Qatar’s sports minister visited him ⁠in hospital to check on his ​health, ​the Qatar Football ​Association said.

If you do not want to follow this more interesting game, then you could always join Rob Smyth for Switzerland v Canada.

A big night for flags.

Bosnia and Herzegovina plan to play a more ⁠offensive game when they face Qatar in a must-win game to keep their World Cup hopes alive, coach ⁠Sergej Barbarez said.

A draw would put Bosnia and Qatar on ⁠two points, surely not enough to qualify in third place, and Barbarez ​predicted the high stakes would make ‌for an entertaining contest.

“For ‌us, it’s never our goal to defend for 90 minutes,” Barbarez told ‌a group of largely Bosnian reporters. “There are always phases of the game when... you let the opponent play.”

“It’s not going to be a match of long balls and defending,” he added. “It will be two teams that will have to fight to win.”

Bosnia expect to be well supported ‌by their fans, who have been visible in large numbers in Seattle this week. Qatar, though, are also set to ​have a large contingent in the stadium, with sections of Seattle Stadium already marked with Qatari flags on Tuesday evening.

The European side go into the game as favourites and victory would most likely set up a last-32 clash against ⁠co-hosts the United States. But Barbarez said Bosnia, playing in their ​second World Cup ​having been eliminated in the ​group stage in 2014, had to be wary of their ​opponents.

“Us being or ‌not being favourites ​to win ​the match will not change our approach,” he said. “Looking at Fifa’s ranking, Qatar should be the favourite. They are better ranked than us, so we need to pay attention.”

“Form can beat quality sometimes,” Barbarez concluded. Reuters.

David Pleat has been writing for us. I wonder if he has time to do a couple of live blogs later in the tournament.

Will any of these get a summer move?

If Bosnia and Herzegovina are to get through, then this man will be key. Even at 40, Edin Dzeko knows his way to goal.

If you are a fan of permutations, then this is for you.