Bosnia-Herzegovina’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup represents one of the most emotionally charged stories in international football this summer.
At the centre of it all is Edin Dzeko, the 40-year-old striker who celebrated qualification against Italy while nursing his arm in a sling after the penalty shootout victory.
It is the kind of image that perfectly encapsulates a man who has spent nearly two decades carrying the weight of an entire country on his shoulders.
“His career is connected to the country’s own image – resilience, persistence and proving people wrong,” Bosnian journalist Sasa Ibrulj says of Dzeko.
Dzeko was just six years old when the Bosnian War began in 1992, a conflict that claimed the lives of around 80,000 fellow Bosnian Muslims.
His family endured the near four-year siege of Sarajevo, and he was forced to move in with his grandparents after his parents’ house was destroyed during the fighting.
“It was terrible,” Dzeko told the Guardian. “The whole family was there, maybe 15 people all staying in an apartment about 35 metres square. It was very hard. We were stressed every day in case somebody we knew died.”
One day his mother made him stay home from the local football pitch, and that same day a shell struck the field and killed several children playing there.
His early career offered little hint of what was to come, with local club Zeljeznicar’s directors reportedly delighted when Czech side Teplice offered just 25,000 euros for the lanky teenager they nicknamed Kloc, meaning lamp-post.
Dzeko went on to become the first player to score at least 50 goals in the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A, collecting two Premier League titles along the way with Manchester City.
Despite achieving superstardom, he never turned his back on his roots, making donations to fund renovations at Zeljeznicar and becoming Bosnia’s first Unicef ambassador in 2009.
“People remember that he did not come from privilege or from a powerful football system,” says Ibrulj. “What makes him different is that people in Bosnia have never experienced him as distant or untouchable.”
His friend Mirza Trbonja told AFP: “When he comes, you need a lasso to catch 10 minutes with him. When someone asks him for a photo or autograph, he never refuses.”
Dzeko now holds the records for the most appearances (148) and most goals (73) in Bosnia’s history, having made his international debut back in 2007.
Bosnia’s first World Cup in Brazil in 2014 proved to be the only one for that golden generation, with play-off heartbreak following for Euro 2016, 2020 and 2024 in the years that followed.
Then Bosnia overcame those demons by beating Wales and Italy on penalties, having trailed in both matches, to seal a place at the 2026 tournament in North America.
Ibrulj says: “This second qualification feels even heavier emotionally. Bosnia spent more than a decade failing to return, and over those years there was disappointment, pessimism and a growing feeling that the country had missed its moment.”
Esmir Bajraktarevic, the 21-year-old who scored the decisive penalty against Italy, was born and raised in Wisconsin after his parents fled Srebrenica, embodying the spirit of a squad where 17 of the 26 players were born outside Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“When everyone comes together in Bosnia, it’s a pretty unique feeling and really special. For a country so small to compete at this stage is a really big thing,” Bajraktarevic says.
Former Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic believes Dzeko’s leadership remains as vital as ever heading into the tournament in a group alongside co-hosts Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.
“He galvanises everybody. When I played with him he certainly wasn’t the most vocal of leaders but he definitely led by example and I think a lot of people fed off that,” says Begovic.
Dzeko himself is refusing to simply enjoy the occasion from a distance, having scored a late equaliser against Wales and set up the equaliser against Italy during qualification.
“I didn’t think I would be playing at 40 – 10 years ago I would’ve said ‘no’, but I’m listening to my body and doing a lot of work before and after training to help my body,” says Dzeko.
“I am so happy I can do it. It is so amazing for the young players. They don’t know it yet, but it will change their lives for sure.”
Bosnia begin their World Cup campaign against co-hosts Canada on Friday at 20:00 BST.
