Bosnia and Herzegovina are going to a World Cup for only the second time in their history, and Edin Dzeko was in the middle of it even with his arm in a sling. The 40-year-old celebrated cautiously after Bosnia beat Italy on penalties, a result that turned one more night into a national milestone.
Dzeko has spent almost 20 years carrying Bosnia and Herzegovina's hopes, and this latest one came with the kind of wear and tear that makes every appearance feel heavier. He has scored 73 goals in 148 games for his country, won two Premier League titles in club football with teams including Manchester City, Inter Milan and Wolfsburg, and still found himself at the centre of the moment that sent Bosnia back to the tournament stage.
That connection has always run deeper than football. Dzeko was six when the Bosnian War began in 1992, and his family stayed in Sarajevo through the near four-year siege of the city before he moved to live with his grandparents after his parents' house was destroyed. He has described that period in stark terms, saying, 'It was terrible,' and recalling that, 'The whole family was there, maybe 15 people all staying in an apartment about 35 metres square.' He added, 'It was very hard,' and, 'We were stressed every day in case somebody we knew died.'
One moment still hangs over that story. A shell hit a local football field and killed several children on a day when Dzeko's mother had kept him at home. After the war, he began his football journey with local club Zeljeznicar, and the arc from Sarajevo's ruins to the world's biggest stage has come to define both the player and the country. As journalist Sasa Ibrulj put it, his career is tied to Bosnia's own image — resilience, persistence and proving people wrong.
That is why this qualification matters beyond the celebrations. Bosnia and Herzegovina are in a group with Canada, Switzerland and Qatar, and their campaign begins against co-hosts Canada on Friday at 20:00 BST. For Dzeko, the remaining question is whether this is the final chapter or merely the latest one in a career that has lasted far longer than most expected, and now carries the physical strain as well as the national burden.
