Edin to Brazil: Bosnia and Herzegovina hero Dzeko is wasted among Pellegrini's pecking order

Edin Dzeko (L) celebrates after scoring a goal against Liechtenstein at the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification Group G match between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Liechtenstein at Bilino Polje Stadion on October 11, 2013 in Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Getty Images)

Bosnia and Herzegovina need to beat Lithuania on Tuesday evening to cement their place at next summer’s World Cup in Brazil. The strike partnership of Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic has inspired them to the top of Group G with only one game left to play.

The Manchester City striker leads the way in the scoring charts with 10 goals but his partner is not far behind with 7. The pair’s great form has helped the country from the former-Yugoslavian republic to the top of the group as they look to confine back-to-back play-off defeats in their World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 qualifying campaigns to Portugal, to the history books.

Dzeko’s sensational international form over the past few years that has been central to their vast improvement and it makes you wonder why he has not become a constant starter for Manchester City.

Last season saw his positional rival Sergio Aguero spend plenty of time in the treatment room, yet the Argentina international still managed to clock more minutes on the pitch than Dzeko. This did not stop the Bosnian out-scoring him, though, with the former Wolfsburg striker bagging 14 league goals in comparison to Aguero’s 12.

Ageuro v Dzeko in 2012/13

In the past Dzeko has taken on the mantle of super-sub, something he was not best pleased with and considering his form in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg – 85 goals in 142 games – it’s no wonder why.

“I’m not a super sub and never will be,” he told BBC Sport last season. “I scored a lot of goals before I arrived at Manchester City and not as a sub. I’ve scored goals from the beginning. Sometimes it will be from the bench, sometimes from the beginning of the game.

“In the last few games the situation has been like today. I will never be a super sub. I want to play.”

Complicating Dzeko’s claim for a starting-berth though is the consistent form of Aguero. The Argentina international has started the current season in solid fashion and looks to be the first choice when he’s fit & ready, bagging 4 goals in his opening 6 games to compliment his 70% shooting accuracy.

Aguero’s statistics that are keeping Dzeko out of the Man City team

In the past it’s appeared that Dzeko plays well with a strike partner that possesses similar qualities to his. When he first burst onto the scene at Wolfsburg it was the Brazilian forward Grafite that partnered him in attack and the two players combined wonderfully to inspire the Wolves to the 2008/09 Bundesliga title. His current strike partnership with Ibisevic resembles that of the one with Grafite; two powerful forwards looking to dominate the opposition defence.

Like his predecessor, Manuel Pellegrini seems to favour Aguero over Dzeko, but the option of partnering Bosnia’s all-time leading scorer with new signing Alvaro Negredo must be an attractive ‘plan B’. Negredo fits the bill as someone who Dzeko likes to play with and if Aguero’s form starts to dip then it could be vital to Pellegrini’s success at the club.

Being a bit-part player is clearly not something Dzeko enjoys though, and he certainly won’t be waiting around if he fails to earn a starting place over the season. If he takes his current international form to the World Cup next summer then he needn’t worry about finding a club that can fulfil his needs.

Whatever happens with his future at the Etihad, he is sure to frighten opposition defences in Brazil as Bosnia and Herzegovina land in Rio as one of the tournament’s dark horses.

Football graphics and stats from Squawka.