Bosnia & Herzegovina — 2026 World Cup Squad

At an age when most strikers have long since traded the pitch for the punditry desk, Edin Džeko keeps reporting for duty. Now at Schalke, Bosnia's record scorer is the gravitational centre of a side that smells opportunity in Group B. Switzerland are the seeds and rightly so, but Qatar look there for the taking, and second place is anyone's to grab. The Dragons sense a finals worth turning up for.

What makes them dangerous is the supply line feeding Džeko and Ermedin Demirović, the Stuttgart forward who runs the channels while the veteran holds the middle. Behind them, Esmir Bajraktarević is the wildcard, a PSV midfielder with the licence to break lines and inject pace into otherwise patient build-up. The full-backs do the heavy lifting too: Benfica's Amar Dedić surges down the right, while Atalanta's Sead Kolašinac and Lens defender Nidal Celik bring continental steel to a back line that won't be bullied.

The plot is irresistible. Džeko, the talisman who has carried this jersey for nearly two decades, gets one more World Cup, and a defence schooled across Italy, France and the Eredivisie must give him a knockout-round send-off.