Following the retirement of long-time talisman Edin Dzeko, Bosnia-Herzegovina is undergoing a generational shift. Largely, and somewhat uniquely, it is being powered by the emotional pull of a vast global diaspora.
With the domestic league severely underfunded and ill-equipped to serve as a reliable talent conveyor belt for the national team, looking beyond its borders has become a necessity. A series of gifted foreign-born prospects, eligible for their countries of birth yet choosing instead to represent their heritage, is reshaping the team’s identity.
At the heart of this recruitment drive is former captain turned sporting director Emir Spahic, who framed the philosophy in late 2024 with a simple declaration: “We’re just bringing our children home.” Having already fielded the third-youngest squad at the 2026 World Cup, this borderless strategy is no longer a temporary stopgap but the blueprint for the nation’s footballing future.
Bosnia-Herzegovina sporting director: “We’re bringing our children home”
Kerim Alajbegovic
A product of Bayer Leverkusen’s academy, Kerim Alajbegovic had a tremendously successful season at Red Bull Salzburg in 2025/2026, registering 14 goals and four assists in 44 competitive appearances in his first season of senior football.
Largely operating on the left flank, Alajbegovic is exceptional in 1-v-1 situations, and is comfortable with both feet. He has begun to hone his game in dead ball situations, developing a signature in-swinging technique on corners from the left, too.
What is striking for a player who only turned 19 in September is that Alajbegovic exudes the confidence of someone who has spent many years playing at the top level, and does not seem phased by the challenges that lie ahead.
His spectacular solo goal against Qatar in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s final group game made him the eighth youngest goalscorer at a World Cup, and the youngest-ever to score from outside the box.
Though Bayer Leverkusen had activated a buy-back clause from Red Bull Salzburg before the tournament, he garnered interest from several top European clubs, before signing for Juventus.
Alajbegovic told Tuttosport that speaking to Miralem Pjanic, a national team legend who spent four trophy-laden seasons in Turin, was an influential factor in his decision.
Alajbegovic’s accomplishments this year were recognised with a place at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, where he was voted 7th in the Men’s Young Talent of the Year award.
Esmir Bajraktarevic
Born in Wisconsin in 2005, Esmir Bajraktarevic grew up in a Bosnian household but moved up through the ranks of the game in the USA, establishing himself at New England Revolution in MLS.
After representing the USA at youth level, and gaining one cap at senior level, Bajraktarevic switched to Bosnia-Herzegovina. As a child, he idolised Edin Dzeko, and earlier this year a video of a five-year-old Bajraktarevic wearing a Dzeko top kicking a ball in his back garden went viral. On his international debut against the Netherlands in September 2024, Bajraktarevic set up his boyhood hero with a signature lofted through-ball, and his cinematic rise in the national team was capped off by scoring the deciding penalty kick against Italy to secure Bosnia-Herzegovina’s World Cup qualification.
Bajraktarevic is a left-footed winger operating on the right, who possesses excellent close control and the ability to carve open defences with pinpoint crosses. On his day, he is an electrifying player to watch, whose body feints and mesmerising dinks bring fans out of their seats. Since his move to PSV Eindhoven in January 2025, game-time has sometimes been hard to come by, but this season he has seven goal contributions to his name despite only having 384 Eredivisie minutes under his belt.
Ermin Mahmic
Mahmic’s inclusion in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s World Cup squad came as a surprise, given that his impressive performances at Slovan Liberec had gone under the radar in the national media, and he was yet to be capped at senior level.
But the 21-year-old rose to the occasion, scoring a thunderous volley two minutes into his competitive debut versus Switzerland in Los Angeles, before scoring the goal against Qatar that confirmed Bosnia-Herzegovina’s place in the knockout stages of the World Cup. Most frequently deployed in a traditional No. 10 role, Mahmic’s best attributes include his ability to shoot from range and his passing vision, but he also has a knack for popping up in the box to score goals. At six feet tall, Mahmic’s frame enables him to protect the ball effectively when trying to pick out his teammates, too.
On the back of his eye-catching World Cup performances, Mahmic was signed by Corum, an ambitious, newly-promoted club in the Turkish Super Lig, for the second-highest transfer fee in the club’s history. He then scored on his debut against Besiktas and contributed regularly in the final third despite limited time on the pitch.
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