 National team head coach Ivica Osim (only in his 4th match overall leading the squad and his first one doing it alone as he previously shared the coaching duties with Ivan Toplak) knew the twenty-one-year-old Željezničar defender well from their time together at Grbavica, and decided to include him in the team as a result of the injury incurred by defensive mainstay Faruk Hadžibegić, thereby causing a bit of a surprise by having a debutante in the starting lineup of a competitive match.In fact Šabanadžović was one of three players to get a start on their debut that day — the other two being yet another Željo youngster Radmilo Mihajlović (about to turn twenty two) and Rijeka goalkeeper Mauro Ravnić (almost twenty seven years of age).Yugoslavia recorded a comfortable 4–0 win, with Šabanadžović putting in a decent performance.