Appleton’s Esmir Bajraktarevic sends Bosnia and Herzegovina to World Cup

At just 21 years of age, Appleton native Esmir Bajraktarevic has already acquired a variety of national and international soccer experiences that many athletes in and on his same field could only only dream of.

But what about making the deciding kick that sends your family’s homeland to the World Cup? That’s the kind of sports fantasy that virtually never comes true.

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Well, thanks to Bajraktarevic’s penalty shot winner to stun Italy, on March 31, Bosnia and Herzegovina has earned a spot in the 2026 World Cup and kept Italy out of a third straight global tournament.

Talk about achieving an ultimate goal.

Tied 1-1 after extra time, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy went to penalty kicks. After Italy missed the third of four attempts, Bajraktarevic’s deciding, no-look boot past Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to propel the country of his family into the World Cup later this summer in various stadiums throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Born and raised in Appleton, Bajraktarevic has enjoyed a meteoric professional soccer rise that began in 2021 with the New England Revolution reserve team. Bajraktarevic made his debut with the U.S. National Team in 2024 and currently plays for PSV Eindhoven in The Netherlands. He was dubbed “The Milwaukee Messi” by one of his former Revolution teammates. (Bajraktarevic played club soccer for a time with Milwaukee’s SC Wave.)

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More: Esmir Bajraktarevic chased his dream and it paid off for the Appleton native with a spot in MLS on the New England Revolution

Though Bajraktarevic also played for the U-19 and U-23 U.S. teams before making his debut with the U.S. National Team in 2024, he ultimately decided to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team due to his family’s heritage. Esmir’s parents, Elmir and Emina, grew up in Bosnia, but left their then war-torn country and came to the United States in 2001 as part of a refugee program.

“The decision (to play for Bosnia) for me was very easy,” Esmir Bajraktarevic said in an article in the The Blazing Musket in October of 2024. “It was something I knew I wanted to do since I was little. It was just a process that took a while. I’m very happy I made it. There’s no feeling like representing your country.”

“I’m very proud of where I’m from,” Bajraktarevic said. “It means a lot to me. It’s how I was raised. I was raised in a Bosnian culture, so it’s everything.”

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Bosnia will join World Cup Group B with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland, and will face co-host Canada in the opener on June 12 in Toronto. It will be making a second World Cup appearance.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Esmir Bajraktarevic sends Bosnia and Herzegovina to World Cup