Zenica, Bosnia - Porto midfielder Raul Meireles was the hero for Portugal on Wednesday as his side beat a ten-man Bosnia- Herzegovina 1-0 to qualify for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa. Portugal had already won the first leg of the play-off in Lisbon on Saturday by the same score to progress 2-0 on aggregate.
The Bosnia forward line of Edin Dzeko and Sejad Salihovic failed to deliver what they promised and although Dzeko came close early in the first half and then forced Eduardo into a good save shortly before the break, Bosnia was never really in with a chance.
Dzeko had another opportunity shortly after the break, but instead of the home side taking the lead, it was Raul Meireles who scored in the 56th minute.
Any hopes Bosnia had of coming back into the game were effectively ended in the 77th minute when Salihovic was shown a second yellow card and sent off.
Portugal then held onto their lead to qualify for their third consecutive finals.
