Bosnia & Herzegovina national football team head coach Sergej Barbarez has announced the official 26-player list for the 2026 World Cup as confirmed by the Football Association of Bosnia after a press conference held on 11th May.
This is their second appearance in the FIFA World Cup after 12 years of wait.
In the qualifying stage, both games with Wales and Italy went to extra time, and they won in penalties, advancing to the main tournament. The team will be led by 40-year-old Edin Džeko, the most experienced player in the team. At the same time, the main names also include Nikola Vasilj, Sead Kolašinac, Amar Dedić, Amir Hadžiahmetović, Benjamin Tahirović, Ermedin Demirović and Esmir Bajraktarević.
Head Coach Sergej has also been called up for nine preliminary players in the squad who would be scrutinised and kept as standbys in case of injuries or serious circumstances; they can be beneficial to the coach. The preliminary call-ups are Tarik Karić, Mladen Jurkas, Arjan Malić, Emir Karić, Jusuf Gazibegović, Ifet Đakovac, Dario Šarić, Amer Gojak and Haris Hajradinović. With three goalkeepers and a strong, experienced midfield with players from major tournaments, Sergej has built up a strong, balanced mixture of experienced and newbies.
Bosnia & Herzegovina Squad for 2026 FIFA World Cup
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), 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)
Bosnia & Herzegovina are placed in Group B along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. This would not be an easy group to qualify as Canada is the host, Switzerland are already experienced in World Cups, and Qatar will definitely bring the 2022 hosts experience to the game. FIFA has announced that the 2026 World Cup will be played in a new format with 48 national teams arranged in 12 groups of four teams.
The group winners and runners-up from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage. This increases the number of matches and opens additional possibilities for teams like Bosnia.