What Canada can expect from Bosnia in FIFA World Cup matchup

The final piece of the FIFA World Cup puzzle has fallen into place for Canada. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina upset Italy on Tuesday in a European playoff to clinch a berth at this summer’s tournament, marking its return to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. 

Canada already knew it would be hosting Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24 at BC Place in Vancouver in Group B action at the World Cup. Bosnia’s victory over the Italians means Canada will face them in its group stage opener on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto. 

What kind of team is Bosnia? What should Canada expect from their Balkan nation? 

Here’s a look at Canada’s first opponent at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Nickname: Zmajevi (The Dragons) 
FIFA world ranking: No. 65 
All-time caps leader:  Edin Džeko (148) 
All-time to scorer: Edin Džeko (73) 
Current coach: Sergej Barbarez 

How Bosnia qualified for the 2026 World Cup. 

Bosnia posted a 5-2-1 record during the first round, finishing behind Group H winners Austria and beating out Romania for second place, and a spot in Path A of the European Playoffs. 

Down 1-0 against Wales in Cardiff, Bosnia was on the verge of elimination when Edin Džeko scored a late equalizer. After a goalless extra time, Bosnia completed the comeback, winning 4-2 on penalties. 

The Bosnians trailed 10-man Italy by a goal in the finale of the Path A playoffs before drawing level and then winning 4-1 on penalties to send the hometown fans at Zenica’s Bilino Polje Stadium into a state of delirium. 

Bosnia’s World Cup history  

Bosnia competed at the World Cup as part of Yugoslavia from 1930 to 1990. The breakup of the country saw Bosnia become an independent country that first took part in World Cup qualifying for the 1998 tournament in France. 

After four failed attempts, the Bosnians qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2014 in Brazil, where they bowed out in the group stage. 

The Dragons will be back at the World Cup this summer for the first time in 12 years after failing to qualify in 2018 and 2022. 

Scouting report on Bosnia 

Canada’s opening match will be a tricky one, considering the form that Bosnia and Herzegovina have been on — seven wins, three draws and only two losses since March 2025. This is also a team that can score and is hard to break down, with 24 goals scored and three clean sheets in that same period. 

Although Bosnia has deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation at times, coach Sergej Barbarez tends to rely on a traditional 4-4-2 setup with forward Ermedin Demirović forming an attacking partnership up top with Džeko. 

Key to Bosnia’s attacking success are wingbacks Amar Memić and Esmir Bajraktarević, who prefer to deliver dangerous crosses into the penalty area, rather than cutting into the middle off the wing.  Typically, Memić and Bajraktarević look to penetrate deep before crossing into the box, where one striker attacks the near post and the other goes towards the back post, thus making life difficult for opposing defenders. 

Džeko provides a tall target man (he stands six-feet-four) and is renowned for winning his aerial battles against opposing centre backs. Most of Bosnia’s best scoring chances come off Džeko’s attempts on goal or from his headed passes. How Canadian centre backs Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius deal with the Bosnian dangerman will be one of the more important tactical questions that Jesse Marsch’s side will have to answer. 

It’ll also be important for Canada to shut down Memić and Bajraktarević and prevent them from supplying crosses into the box. Bosnia is also dangerous from set pieces, so Canada would be well advised to limit the number of fouls they commit in and around the box.

Bosnia’s major weakness is its lack of experience. Džeko has 148 caps for his country, but only three other players on the squad who took part in this month’s pair of qualifying matches have played in 30 games for their country. The overwhelming majority of players on the roster have fewer than 20 caps. That lack of experience often leads to inconsistent performances across 90 minutes. 

And while Džeko is an experienced campaigner who is capable of conjuring a magical moment, the team is far too reliant on him; it lacks variation in its attacking play and fails to provide consistent support for the veteran striker. 

Most recognizable name on Bosnia’s team 

At 40 years of age, Edin Džeko is still going strong for Bosnia. 

The veteran striker was his country’s top scorer during European qualifying with six goals, accounting for over one-third of his country’s offence. 

Džeko has a wealth of experience at international and club level, having previously turned out for some of Europe’s top outfits, including Manchester City and Inter Milan.  He’s currently playing for FC Schalke 04 in Germany’s second division. 

What Canada is saying about Bosnia 

“Their players grew up in a war-torn country, and a lot of them were lucky to escape, found their ways to different countries. I coached Amar Dedić (at Red Bull Salzburg) — his family moved to Austria and had to find a new life there,” said head coach Jesse Marsch. “So, these players have been through a lot in life, and I think it really served them well in the (European playoffs) where they were in difficult situations.

“I have a lot of respect for what Bosnia has achieved, what those people have been through, what those players have been through, and I’m happy for them to be at the World Cup. I know we’re in for a really difficult first match.”

Midfielder Ismaël Koné added that “to be fair, Bosnia is a very good team. I didn’t know this was their level. I’m very surprised Italy didn’t go through. I thought with the experience they have, with the high-quality players they have, by now, after missing two World Cups, they would be here, but you know, it’s football.”

Winger Liam Miller noted that while watching the game against Italy, “you could tell Bosnia were a good team. They had more passes, obviously. I know Italy had a red card. But even before Italy got their red card, I felt like (Bosnia) were the better team in the game. So, they’re a good team. We can’t underestimate them. They’re going to come here with energy.”

Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau echoed those sentiments, saying “Bosnia was pretty much the team that was most in form (in Path A) of the four that could have been a possibility (for Canada). It’s going to be a very tough opponent.”