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Sport

Michael Yokhin

Bosnia and Herzegovina World Cup 2026 squad: 40-year-old Edin Dzeko leads the team into their second-ever major tournament

Sergej Barbarez Bosnia and Herzegovina Edin Dzeko Bosnia World Cup Herzegovina World Cup 2026 DF San Marino GK (Organization)

The players of Bosnia and Herzegovina line up prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-off match vs Wales.

Defined by a blend of last-dance veteran leaders and a rapidly accelerating youth movement, head coach Sergej Barbarez named a final 26 for the World Cup before practically any other nation, having been one of the final nations to qualify for the tournament.

The Bosnians beat Wales in Cardiff on penalties before facing Italy, and repeating the feat, to stop the four-time world champions from competing in a third straight World Cup.

They have already won the best song at the World Cup "I am from Bosnia, take me to America" can they use that as inspiration to make it out of Group B?

The headline, as it has been for nearly two decades, is Edin Dzeko. Now 40 years old and playing for Schalke in Germany, the ex-Manchester City striker remains the focal point of Bosnia's attack.

Despite his age, Dzeko’s form in the 2. Bundesliga, where he became the oldest goalscorer in the league's history earlier this year, has kept him as a guaranteed starter. With Miralem Pjanic having officially retired from football in December last year, Dzeko stands as the final active member of Bosnia's 'golden generation' that reached the 2014 World Cup.

Barbarez's preferred style is physical and high-energy emphasising quick transitions.

Midfielders Benjamin Tahirovic and Armin Gigovic operate in the engine room, while Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic is the perfect foil for Dzeko, often doing the so-called dirty work to allow the captain to stay in the box.

Mood

Edin Dzeko won titles with Wolfsburg and Manchester City – now with Schalke in the second tier, he’s scored for Bosnia in every year since his debut in 2007 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Bosnia’s only previous appearance at a major tournament was at the 2014 World Cup, when they had high hopes with their golden generation, but went out in the group stage. The extremely unlucky defeat to Nigeria, when a perfectly good Edin Dzeko goal was ruled out for offside, is still remembered by fans as a major injustice.

Now they have a chance to make up for that – the team is considered less talented than it was 12 years ago, but Dzeko is still there at the age of 40, and the qualifying campaign was extremely encouraging. The team arrives with a lot of enthusiasm and national pride.

Squad

Bosnia and Herzegovina World Cup 2026 squad

GK: Nikola Vasilj (FC St. Pauli)
GK: Martin Zlomislic (Rijeka)
GK: Osman Hadzikic (Slaven Belupo)
DF: Sead Kolasinac (Atalanta)
DF: Dennis Hadzikadunic (Sampdoria)
DF: Amar Dedic (Benfica)
DF: Nikola Katic (Schalke 04)
DF: Tarik Muharemovic (Sassuolo)
DF: Nihad Mujakic (Gaziantep)
DF: Stjepan Radeljic (Rijeka)
DF: Nidal Celik (Lens)
MF: Amir Hadziahmetovic (Hull City)
MF: Benjamin Tahirovic (Brondby)
MF: Dzenis Burnic (Karlsruher SC)
MF: Armin Gigovic (Young Boys)
MF: Ivan Basic (Astana)
MF: Esmir Bajraktarevic (PSV)
MF: Amar Memic (Viktoria Plzen)
MF: Ivan Sunjic (Pafos)
MF: Kerim Alajbegovic (Red Bull Salzburg)
MF: Ermin Mahmic (Slovan Liberec)
FW: Edin Dzeko (Schalke 04)
FW: Ermedin Demirovic (VfB Stuttgart)
FW: Samed Bazdar (Jagiellonia Bialystok)
FW: Haris Tabakovic (Borussia Monchengladbach)
FW: Jovo Lukic (Universitatea Cluj)

Warm-ups commence for the Bosnia squad (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fixtures

June 12, 2026: Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina , BMO Field , Toronto, Canada
June 18, 2026: Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina , SoFi Stadium , Inglewood, United States
June 24, 2026: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar , Lumen Field , Seattle, United States
September 25, 2026: Poland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina , PGE Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland
September 28, 2026: Romania vs Bosnia and Herzegovina , National Arena, Bucharest, Romania
October 2, 2026: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Sweden , Stadion Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
October 5, 2026: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Poland , Stadion Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
November 14, 2026: Sweden vs Bosnia and Herzegovina , Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
November 17, 2026: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Romania , Stadion Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group B standings

Bosnia and Herzegovina are in Group B at World Cup 2026.

Bosnia and Herzegovina manager: Sergej Barbarez

Sergej Barbarez (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sergej Barbarez is a former captain of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team who was appointed in April 2024, tasked with instituting a new era after a decade of decline.

Despite having zero previous senior management experience before taking the job, Barbarez led Bosnia to their most successful World Cup qualifying campaign in years.

Bosnia finished 2nd in Group H, narrowly missing out on automatic qualification to Austria, but qualified for the World Cup through the play-offs.

Bosnia's star player

Edin Dzeko

Edin Dzeko’s international career is the definitive story of Bosnian football in the 21st century. Since making a goal-scoring debut against Turkey in June 2007, Dzeko has gone from a promising young striker to becoming the nation’s undisputed greatest-ever player. He is the most-capped player (146 appearances) and the all-time leading goalscorer (72 goals) for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Even at 40 years-old, the Premier League winner carries a threat and is enjoying something of an Indian summer in 2. Bundesliga with Schalke.

Any physical decline has been offset by elite game intelligence and a specialised role as a pure target man. He isn't the type of player who will outrun a defence, but as Wales head coach Craig Bellamy noted ahead of their play-off, Dzeko is a player who 'doesn't need too many chances to score.'