The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team captain, Edin Džeko (40), spoke to FIFA’s YouTube channel ahead of the World Cup in Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
Džeko spoke about Bosnia and Herzegovina’s path to the World Cup, and especially highlighted how much this means to him, the national team, and the entire country.
“Over the past 20 years, I have played many major matches, but this was unique and special because we knew we had a good chance in front of our supporters to qualify for the World Cup. I believe we have succeeded in uniting Bosnia and Herzegovina to some extent by achieving this success,” Džeko said.
At one point, he touched upon the war, saying that it is an additional reason why people love Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“My childhood, just like the childhood of all the children who were in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war, was neither easy nor simple. Many innocent people lost their lives. I can say with certainty that this period made us more resilient. And that is why we love our country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, even more and want to present it to the world as a positive country, a country of good people,” Džeko stated.
In the end, he said he was thrilled by the scenes from the stands in St. Louis, where around 20,000 of our supporters followed the friendly match against the Panama national team.
“I think we are one of the rare national teams that has support anywhere in the world,” Džeko concluded.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team begins its World Cup campaign tomorrow with a match against Canada in Toronto (9:00 p.m. CET).
