Sunday’s Group F encounter between Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina might not seem overly special to the outside world, but it is undeniably the most important match in Bosnian football history.

The Golden Lilies’ first match at a FIFA World Cup™ is a source of great excitement within the squad and back home in the Bosnia, explained Asmir Begovic in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com. For Stoke City’s talented shot-stopper, this weekend’s opener cannot come soon enough.

Bosnia-Hercegovina’s goalkeeper Asmir Begovic eyes the ball during a training session at Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 14, 2014 on the eve of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group F football match against Argentina. AFP PHOTO / Juan Mabromata

Begovic was born in the former Yugoslavia, though his family chose to flee the brutal war engulfing their homeland when Asmir was still young. He grew up in Germany and Canada, with his performances for the Canucks at youth level prompting a call-up for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in his adopted homeland.

The Stoke keeper is prepare to stop Messi and others from finding the back of the net.

“Messi is one of the world’s best players and he’s a true genius on the ball. I can just envisage myself trying to make it as difficult as possible for him to put the ball in the back of the net. Perhaps I’d be able to pull off a good save to stop him. You imagine a lot of scenarios: one-on-ones with Messi, one-on-ones with Aguero. Such thoughts are always on your mind, and we prepare for this in training. When the time comes, you just need to replicate what you have done in training and hopefully things will work out for you. I do hope there won’t be a lot of one-on-ones though – it’s not exactly an ideal scenario for a goalkeeper.

I feel good. We’re well prepared for the match. We’re happy to finally be in Rio and we’re looking forward to the task at hand. It’s the first major tournament any of us have been to,” Begovic said.