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Bosnia & Herzegovina

Zmajevi (The Dragons)

Capital
Sarajevo
Confederation
Europe
Population
~3.2 million
Languages
Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian
World Cups
2nd appearance
Best result
Group stage

The Anthem

Državna himna Bosne i Hercegovine

(instrumental — no official lyrics)

One of a handful of national anthems with no official words, a deliberate gesture of unity in a multi-ethnic state.

▶ Listen on YouTube ↗

The Legends

Names that echo

Edin Džeko

Forward · 2000s–20s

Bosnia's all-time top scorer and captain; a prolific career across England and Italy.

Miralem Pjanić

Midfielder · 2010s–20s

Elegant playmaker for Roma, Juventus and Barcelona.

Hasan Salihamidžić

Midfielder · 1990s–2000s

Champions League winner with Bayern Munich.

Fun Facts

Worth knowing

  1. 01

    Bosnia's anthem is intentionally wordless — chosen so no single ethnic group's language is privileged over another.

  2. 02

    Sarajevo, the capital, hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics a decade before the war.

  3. 03

    For its 2014 debut the squad travelled with a whole nation's hopes — football as a rare point of unity.

At the World Cup

The story so far

A young country whose football team has become a powerful symbol of unity. Its sole previous World Cup came in 2014, where Džeko and Pjanić lit up the group stage.

2014

The Dragons' debut

Bosnia announced itself in Brazil with a maiden World Cup win over Iran.

Group Stage

Their three fixtures