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Edin Dzeko, the 40-year-old veteran striker, leads Bosnia and Herzegovina as they become the first team to release their official 26-man squad for the upcoming World Cup. Head coach Sergej Barbarez has blended youth with experience, relying heavily on Dzeko’s leadership for the tournament set to take place across North America.
Bosnia is heading into their second-ever World Cup appearance (their first was in 2014) with high morale. The team secured their spot in Canada, Mexico, and the USA after an epic playoff victory in the European qualifiers, eliminating four-time champions Italy in a dramatic penalty shootout.
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The veteran striker, currently playing for Schalke 04, remains the cornerstone of the squad. As the all-time leading scorer for the national team, Dzeko will be joined by well-known European-based players like Atalanta’s left-back Sead Kolasinac.
Bosnia has been drawn into Group B and will kick off their campaign against tournament co-host Canada on June 12 at 4:00 PM Brasília time in Toronto. Switzerland and Qatar complete the group.
Here is the full 26-player squad for Bosnia:
**Goalkeepers**
– Nikola Vasilj (FC St. Pauli, GER)
– Martin Zlomislic (HNK Rijeka, CRO)
– Osman Hadzikic (Slaven Belupo, CRO)
**Defenders**
– Sead Kolasinac (Atalanta, ITA)
– Amar Dedic (Benfica, POR)
– Nihad Mujakic (Gaziantep, TUR)
– Nikola Katic (Schalke 04, GER)
– Tarik Muharemovic (Sassuolo, ITA)
– Stjepan Radeljic (Rijeka, CRO)
– Dennis Hadzikadunic (Sampdoria, ITA)
– Nidal Celik (Lens, FRA)
**Midfielders**
– Amir Hadziahmetovic (Hull City, ENG)
– Ivan Sunjic (Pafos, CYP)
– Ivan Basic (Astana, KAZ)
– Dzenis Burnic (Karlsruhe, GER)
– Ermin Mahmic (Slovan Liberec, CZE)
– Benjamin Tahirovic (Brøndby, DEN)
– Amar Memic (Viktoria Plzen, CZE)
– Armin Gigovic (Young Boys, SUI)
**Forwards**
– Kerim Alajbegovic (Red Bull Salzburg, AUT)
– Esmir Bajraktarevic (PSV Eindhoven, NED)
– Ermedin Demirovic (VfB Stuttgart, GER)
– Jovo Lukic (Universitatea Cluj, ROM)
– Samed Bazdar (Jagiellonia Bialystok, POL)
– Haris Tabakovic (Borussia Mönchengladbach, GER)
– Edin Dzeko (Schalke 04, GER)
