Bosnia & Herzegovina

🌍 World Cup Story

Bosnia & Herzegovina's first World Cup appearance came in 2014 in Brazil — a debut laced with emotion for a country that suffered a devastating war in the 1990s. They reached the tournament with a squad built around Edin Džeko, one of the best strikers of his generation, who scored their first ever World Cup goal. They exited in the group stage but the occasion meant everything to a nation still healing. Now they return having done the almost unthinkable — knocking Italy out of European qualifying on penalties. Italy, a four-time world champion and 2020 European champion, missing three consecutive World Cups is the biggest shock in recent football history, and Bosnia put them out.