40-year-old Džeko leads Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup squad

Sergej Barbarez’s Bosnia and Herzegovina became the first team to nominate the full squad for the 2026 World Cup. Schalke’s 40-year-old striker Edin Džeko will be the captain for the side coached by the former Borussia Dortmund, HSV, and Bayer Leverkusen attacker.  

Roger Milla is the only outfield player to play in the World Cup after turning 40. The Cameroonian did so in the first tournament staged in the USA back in 1994, and there are now three names set to join the list this summer.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (41) and Croatia’s Luka Modric (40) are also expected to be named in the lists of their respective nations. Džeko was part of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s squad for their debut World Cup in 2014.

He scored one of their four goals when they were knocked out of the group stage. Former Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibišević put his name on the record books by scoring Bosnia’s first goal in the competition when they lost 2-1 to Argentina.

In the same game, Sead Kolašinac scored an own-goal after only two minutes and six seconds. The former Schalke defender still holds the record for the fastest own-goal in the history of the World Cup.

The 32-year-old current Atalanta player is included in the squad for this summer’s tournament. Džeko’s teammate Nikola Katić will also hope to repeat his success of a Bundesliga promotion in the global event.

On the contrary, Nikola Vasilj will face a relegation to 2. Bundesliga if St. Pauli fail to beat VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday. Bosnia’s 30-year-old starting goalkeeper will seek to add to his 25 caps as they face Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland in the group stage.

German-born Dženis Burnić is another member of the squad with a Bundesliga connection. Although the soon-to-be 28-year-old has only played 7 top-flight games for Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart, he has been a key player in Karlsruhe’s midfield since joining them after Heidenheim’s promotion to Bundesliga. Fellow midfielder Armin Gigović played in Bundesliga last season with Holstein Kiel.

Burnić could be another Bosnian player to feature in next season’s Bundesliga as he’s linked with Augsburg. Meanwhile, Kerim Alajbegović, who was also born in Köln, will return to Bayer Leverkusen after a strong campaign with RB Salzburg. The 18-year-old attacker is one of the highly-rated prospects for this summer’s showdown in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.

Bosnia’s squad also includes two established Bundesliga strikers in the form of Ermedin Demirović and Haris Tabaković. The Hamburg-born striker reached double-digit goals in each of the last three seasons, while Tabaković had his breakthrough season as he matched his compatriot's 12-goal tally.

The Borussia Mönchengladbach man scored the equalizer against Italy in the last qualifying playoff tie before Vasilj’s penalty shootout heroics. Bosnia and Herzegovina will start their campaign in Toronto against Canada before traveling to Inglewood to face Tabaković’s home country, Switzerland. They will end the group stage in Seattle against Qatar, who are also appearing for the second time in their history.

Argentina and Brazil have already released their preliminary squads, but this is the first full 26-man list from the 48 participants.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 26-man World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Nikola Vasilj (FC St. Pauli), Martin Zlomislić (HNK Rijeka), Osman Hadžikić (Slaven Belupo)

Defenders: Sead Kolašinac (Atalanta BC), Amar Dedić (SL Benfica), Nihad Mujakić (Gaziantep FK), Nikola Katić (Schalke 04), Tarik Muharemović (US Sassuolo), Stjepan Radeljić (HNK Rijeka), Dennis Hadžikadunić (UC Sampdoria), Nidal Čelik (Lens)

Midfielders: Amir Hadžiahmetović (Hull City), Ivan Šunjić (Pafos FC), Ivan Bašić (FC Astana), Dženis Burnić (Karlsruher SC), Ermin Mahmić (FC Slovan Liberec), Benjamin Tahirović (Bröndby IF), Amar Memić (FC Viktoria Plzen), Armin Gigović (BSC Young Boys)

Forwards: Kerim Alajbegović (RB Salzburg, set to re-join Bayer Leverkusen), Esmir Bajraktarević (PSV Eindhoven), Ermedin Demirović (VfB Stuttgart), Jovo Lukić (FC Universitatea Cluj), Samed Baždar (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Haris Tabaković (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Edin Džeko (Schalke 04)