Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Jun 13 (IANS): Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) defeated Israel 3-1 in a UEFA EURO 2016 qualifier.

Over 10,000 fans watched the match on Friday in Bilino Polje in Zenica, a industry city in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the first half, the BIH team was in an upper hand but Israel was the first to score. Tal Ben Haim II scored in 42nd minute and shocked the home team, which now had to win in order to stay in the battle to qualify the finals of EURO 2016.

However, BIH earned the draw very quickly, with Edin Visca, player of Turkish Basaksehirspor, scoring just after a minute.

In the second minute of the extra time, BIH won a penalty and Edin Dzeko, a Manchester City striker, calmly shot the ball into the net. BIH end the first half with a 2-1 lead.

In the second half, BIH sealed their victory in 75th minute. After Lulic shot, the goalkeeper of Isreal Ofir Marciano repulsed the ball which then found Edin Visca, who scored for the second time.

BIH coach Mehmed Bazdarevic gained its second consecutive win in the qualifiers for EURO 2016, and maintained the hope for one place in EURO 2016 finals.

After six matches, BIH stay in fifth place on eight points in Group B. The top place belongs to Wales with 14 points, followed by Belgium with 11, then Israel and Cyprus both with 9 points.