Edin Dzeko, the former Manchester City striker now playing for Schalke in Germany’s second tier, is set to become one of the few outfield players aged 40 or above to feature in a World Cup after being included in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 26-man squad for the 2026 tournament.
Only Cameroon forward Roger Milla has played at a World Cup as an outfield player after turning 40, having scored at the 1994 edition. Six goalkeepers have also achieved the feat: Egypt’s Essam el Hadary (45 at the 2018 World Cup), Colombia’s Faryd Mondragon, Northern Ireland’s Pat Jennings, England’s Peter Shilton, Italy’s Dino Zoff, and Tunisia’s Ali Boumnijel.
Luka Modric, 40, and Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, are also expected to represent Croatia and Portugal respectively this summer. Dzeko, who has earned 148 international caps, played in seven of Bosnia’s eight Group H qualifiers as well as in the play-off semi-final and final. He scored his 73rd international goal in the semi-final victory over Wales.
Bosnia are the first team to announce their 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This will be only the second time Bosnia have qualified for the tournament. They are drawn in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland.
**Bosnia’s 26-man squad:**
**Goalkeepers:** Nikola Vasilj (St Pauli), Martin Zlomislic (Rijeka), Osman Hadzikic (Slaven Belupo)
**Defenders:** Sead Kolasinac (Atalanta), Amar Dedic (Benfica), Nihad Mujakic (Gaziantep), Nikola Katic (Schalke 04), Tarik Muharemovic (Sassuolo), Stjepan Radeljic (Rijeka), Dennis Hadzikadunic (Sampdoria), Nidal Celik (Lens)
**Midfielders:** Amir Hadziahmetovic (Hull City), Ivan Sunjic (Pafos), Ivan Basic (Astana), Dzenis Burnic (Karlsruher SC), Ermin Mahmic (Slovan Liberec), Benjamin Tahirovic (Brondby), Amar Memic (Viktoria Plzen), Armin Gigovic (Young Boys), Kerim Alajbegovic (RB Salzburg), Esmir Bajraktarevic (PSV Eindhoven)
**Forwards:** Ermedin Demirovic (VfB Stuttgart), Jovo Lukic (Universitatea Cluj), Samed Bazdar (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Haris Tabakovic (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Edin Dzeko (Schalke 04)
