The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team will host Romania in Zenica tonight in the penultimate match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently in second place in Group H and if they win their next two matches, tonight against Romania and on Tuesday against Austria in Vienna, they can secure first place and direct qualification. However, there is also the possibility of another scenario, namely a draw or defeat that could leave BiH without a chance of qualifying for the World Cup.
The BiH national team is aware of the pressure and the difficulty of the task, but they believe they can achieve their goal. Captain Edin Džeko said that Bosnia and Herzegovina has negative experience when it comes to situations like this, but that the players are aware of the importance of these matches and that he hopes they will respond in the best way possible.
“The boys are aware of what this game can mean for their careers because they are mostly younger players who have yet to make their careers. The World Cup is important for a young player, after all, we have all sold ourselves through the national team. We have trained well and we are ready. We need to take some responsibility and enter the game with only one goal,” said Džeko at a press conference.
For the national team, he added, every game is special, but the upcoming two are perhaps even more important and could determine his future national team career.
“We know what a win, a draw or a defeat brings us. I think everyone needs every game to be like that. Each one is important in its own way, but we are only thinking about this one,” Džeko emphasized.
Regarding the Romanians, he emphasized that they have a good and young team and an experienced coach, but he hopes for a victory for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Coach Sergej Barbarez emphasized that he does not feel pressure due to the importance of the upcoming games and that he is confident that his players can meet the task.
“We know the math, but we know what our goal and our plan are. It will be like that after these two games. It is a privilege to have pressure and that is something that is normal in football. Those who cannot handle it should not be involved in this job. We are ready, we have done everything right so far, especially yesterday when we had two training sessions. We have a plan, we are playing at home, which is the most important thing, and we will try to win this game,” said Barbarez.
The Dragons have played seven games with the Romanians so far, winning three times and losing four times. In the last match played on March 21, 2025 in these qualifiers, the BiH team won 1:0 in Bucharest with a goal by Armin Gigović in the 14th minute.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina-Romania match starts at 8:45 PM at the Bilino Polje stadium in Zenica. Michael Oliver from England will be the referee, assisted by compatriots Stuart Bart and James Mainvering. The fourth official is Chris Kavanagh, while the VAR room is staffed by Michael Salisbury and Peter Banks, all from England.
After the match against Romania, the Dragons will play Austria in Vienna three days later in the final match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
In Group “H”, Austria is currently first with 15 points, Bosnia and Herzegovina is second with two points less (13), Romania is third with 10, Cyprus is fourth with eight points and San Marino is last with no points.
Watch the match at Bilino Polje live from 8:35 PM on BHRT.
