Italy's players were caught on video celebrating when Bosnia beat Wales in the play-off semi-final. They saw an easy route to the World Cup. Esmir Bajraktarevic made them pay for it with the winning penalty.
The 21-year-old PSV Eindhoven winger is the son of Elmir and Emina Bajraktarevic, two Bosnian Muslims who survived the Srebrenica Genocide and fled to Appleton, Wisconsin. Esmir was born there in 2005. When he converted that penalty against the Azzurri, it carried a weight that football rarely has to carry.
"There was a plan for this boy never to be born, for my own children never to be born, for any of our children never to be born. Their laughter is our greatest revenge." Those were the words of Emir Suljagic, head of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre, after the final whistle. If you need reminding why football matters beyond the ninety minutes, there it is.
A squad built from the diaspora
Bajraktarevic started his career in MLS with the New England Revolution and earned one cap for the USMNT before switching allegiance to his parents' homeland in 2024. Since then: 14 caps, a move to Eredivisie champions PSV in January 2025, and five goals with two assists in all competitions this season. He's not just a story — he's a player.
He won't be the only dangerous wide option Bosnia carry into the tournament. Kerim Alajbegovic, 18 years old and Austrian-born, has been starring for Red Bull Salzburg. Bayer Leverkusen have already triggered his buy-back clause for after the summer. Bosnia are going to the World Cup with two of the most exciting teenage and early-twenties wingers in European football. Any defence that ignores that on the counter will be punished.
The squad is more than its young guns. Sead Kolasinac, the former Arsenal left back, remains a key figure. Edin Dzeko — still Bosnia's record scorer — netted in the play-off semi-final against Wales and has six goals in eight Bundesliga second-tier appearances for Schalke since January. At whatever age he's running out at now, he keeps producing. His club teammate Nikola Katic, formerly of Rangers and Plymouth Argyle, was imperious across the qualifying campaign.
The team is managed by Sergej Barbarez, a national icon who earned 47 caps. "He's an epitome of what it means to be Bosnian. He was born in Mostar and his dad was of Serbian origin," said Ervin Krantic of the BH Fanaticos, the global fan group that follows Bosnian representatives across all sports. The point matters: Barbarez represents a Bosnia that is complicated, layered, and real — not a tourist board version.
Why underestimating them again would be a mistake
Bosnia's group at the 2026 World Cup features Qatar, Switzerland, and co-hosts Canada. That's a draw that gives them a genuine path to the knockout rounds. Barbarez has built a defensively compact unit that frustrates opponents and then releases Bajraktarevic and Alajbegovic at pace. It's not pretty football. It wins games.
The complication is the off-pitch reality. Bosnia's domestic game is fractured by sectarianism. Many Bosnian-born players — Josip Sutalo, Dejan Lovren, Neven Subotic, Josip Illicic — chose to represent other nations. "The unfortunate reality is that the national team only falls to a certain amount of people," Krantic acknowledges. That makes qualification more impressive, not less.
The US alone is home to over 400,000 people of Bosnian origin. The stadiums in North America this summer will not be quiet. Italy's players learned what it means to dismiss Bosnia as the preferable opponent. The bookmakers and Group G rivals would be wise to take the lesson on board.
