Bosnia and Herzegovina at the FIFA World Cup 2026

History

Bosnia and Herzegovina have appeared at the FIFA World Cup twice as an independent nation. Their debut came in 2014 in Brazil, where they were eliminated in the group stage after one win (3-1 vs Iran) and losses to Argentina and Nigeria. The 2026 tournament marks only their second World Cup appearance. Bosnia's national team reached their highest FIFA ranking of 13th in August 2013, a period that coincided with their golden generation featuring Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic, and Vedad Ibisevic. They have never qualified for a UEFA European Championship.

Qualification

Bosnia and Herzegovina finished second in UEFA qualifying Group H behind Austria, narrowly missing automatic qualification. They then entered the UEFA playoff Path A. In the semi-final, they came from behind to equalise late and beat Wales on penalties. In the final, they defeated four-time world champions Italy, again fighting back to level before winning in a penalty shootout, completing a historic and dramatic qualification. The campaign was led by Sergej Barbarez, appointed as head coach in April 2024 with no prior senior management experience. Captain Edin Dzeko scored six goals during qualifying.

Preparation

Bosnia and Herzegovina assembled their final 26-man squad on May 11, 2026, making them one of the first teams to publicly confirm their roster. The squad is captained by veteran striker Edin Dzeko, who turned 40 during the qualifying campaign but remained effective with six qualifying goals. During the training camp, the federation confirmed on May 27, 2026 that midfielder Ivan Sunjic was out of training with a muscle injury (doubtful but not ruled out), that Haris Tabakovic had arrived injured and was being monitored, and that Amir Hadziahmetovic cancelled an operation to stay available. Bosnia opened their warm-up programme with a 0-0 friendly draw against North Macedonia on May 29 at the Asim Ferhatovic Hase stadium in Sarajevo, in which a heavily rotated side featured and Dzeko did not play as he managed his fitness. Goalkeeper Osman Hadzikic was injured in the warm-up before that match (reported 10-15 day layoff), and on May 30 coach Sergej Barbarez activated a reserve call-up for 18-year-old goalkeeper Mladen Jurkas (FK Borac Banja Luka) as cover. The team held an open farewell training at Grbavica stadium on June 1, with Dzeko again training separately, before departing for the United States on June 2. They play a second warm-up against Panama on June 6 at Energizer Park in St. Louis, where they also hold a training camp. Their opening World Cup match is against co-host Canada on June 12 in Toronto.

Latest news

Zmajevi hold farewell open training at Grbavica before flying to USA; Dzeko trains separately

· general

Bosnia held an open farewell training at Grbavica stadium in Sarajevo on 1 June, watched by fans, before departing for the United States on 2 June. Captain Edin Dzeko worked separately with a fitness coach. The first US stop is St. Louis, where they play a warm-up against Panama on 6 June at Energizer Park, ahead of their World Cup opener against Canada in Toronto on 12 June.

Goalkeeper Hadzikic hurt in warm-up; teenager Mladen Jurkas called up to preparations

· squad

Goalkeeper Osman Hadzikic was injured in the warm-up before the North Macedonia friendly on 29 May, with reports of a 10-15 day layoff. On 30 May coach Sergej Barbarez activated a reserve call-up for 18-year-old Mladen Jurkas (FK Borac Banja Luka), his first senior call-up, to cover the goalkeeping position. Hadzikic was not definitively ruled out, his final fitness report awaited.

Bosnia held to goalless friendly draw by North Macedonia in Sarajevo

· matches

In their first World Cup warm-up, Bosnia and Herzegovina drew 0-0 with North Macedonia at the Asim Ferhatovic Hase stadium in Sarajevo on 29 May. Both teams made wholesale changes at half-time. Amar Dedic captained the side and Martin Zlomislic started in goal; Ivan Sunjic (muscle injury) sat out, and Edin Dzeko did not feature as he managed his fitness.

Squad

PlayerPositionClub
Nikola VasiljGKFC St. Pauli
Martin ZlomislićGKHNK Rijeka
Osman HadžikićGKNK Slaven Belupo
Mladen JurkasGKFK Borac Banja Luka
Sead KolašinacDFAtalanta BC
Amar DedićDFSL Benfica
Nihad MujakićDFGaziantep FK
Nikola KatićDFFC Schalke 04
Tarik MuharemovićDFUS Sassuolo
Stjepan RadeljićDFHNK Rijeka
Dennis HadžikadunićDFUC Sampdoria
Nidal ČelikDFRC Lens
Amir HadžiahmetovićMFHull City
Ivan ŠunjićMFPafos FC
Ivan BašićMFFC Astana
Dženis BurnićMFKarlsruher SC
Ermin MahmićMFFC Slovan Liberec
Benjamin TahirovićMFBrøndby IF
Amar MemićMFFC Viktoria Plzen
Armin GigovićMFBSC Young Boys
Kerim AlajbegovićMFRB Salzburg
Esmir BajraktarevićMFPSV Eindhoven
Ermedin DemirovićFWVfB Stuttgart
Jovo LukićFWFC Universitatea Cluj
Samed BaždarFWJagiellonia Białystok
Haris TabakovićFWBorussia Mönchengladbach
Edin DžekoFWFC Schalke 04

Recent results

  • 2024-06-03 — ENG 3-0 BIH (friendly)
  • 2024-06-09 — ITA 1-0 BIH (friendly)
  • 2025-03-21 — ROU 0-1 BIH (qualification)
  • 2025-03-24 — BIH 2-1 CYP (qualification)
  • 2025-06-07 — BIH 1-0 SMR (qualification)
  • 2025-06-10 — SVN 2-1 BIH (friendly)
  • 2025-09-06 — SMR 0-6 BIH (qualification)
  • 2025-09-09 — BIH 1-2 AUT (qualification)
  • 2025-10-09 — CYP 2-2 BIH (qualification)
  • 2025-10-12 — MLT 1-4 BIH (friendly)
  • 2025-11-15 — BIH 3-1 ROU (qualification)
  • 2025-11-18 — AUT 1-1 BIH (qualification)
  • 2026-03-26 — WAL 1-1 BIH (qualification)
  • 2026-03-31 — BIH 1-1 ITA (qualification)
  • 2026-05-29 — BIH 0-0 MKD (friendly)

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