The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team ( bs, Nogometna/Fudbalska reprezentacija Bosne i Hercegovine; sr, Фудбалска репрезентација Боснe и Херцеговинe, Fudbalska reprezentacija Bosne i Hercegovine; hr, Bosanskohercegovačka nogometna reprezentacija) represents

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

in international football competitions, and is governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Until 1992, Bosnian footballers played for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved their best result when they reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup as winners of their qualifying group. They were eliminated after narrow

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

losses to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and a win over

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The national team has appeared in numerous other qualification play-offs, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup play-offs loss to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, as well as the qualifying play-offs for

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, losing to Portugal, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

respectively, preventing the team from reaching their first

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

. The team's highest FIFA World Ranking was 13th, achieved in August 2013.

History

Bosnia and Herzegovina have seen a steady rise in their fortunes on the international football stage in recent times. Historically, Bosnia and Herzegovina has managed multiple play-off appearances and has qualified for one

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. More often than not, the team produces solid results in qualifiers and challenges for a top spot. From 1920 to 1992, the players lined up for

, but following the outbreak of the Bosnian War and subsequent independence, a new football nation arose from the ashes. The early period saw Bosnia and Herzegovina have to wait until the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to compete for a place in a major competition. Bosnia and Herzegovina finished fourth in a group that included

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. This was then subsequently followed by further disappointment with lackluster campaigns in the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers, as well as the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

. This early period was followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina coming very close to qualifying directly for their first ever major competition,

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

, narrowly missing out by a single goal against Denmark. Bosnia and Herzegovina failed to make the grade in the

2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America) ...

, despite being unbeaten at home, and the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, which saw their poor home form cost them. Bosnia and Herzegovina then experienced double heartbreak, bowing out twice in the playoffs to

, first 2–0 on aggregate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup decider and then 6–2 on aggregate in the UEFA Euro 2012 decider. Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Brazil, in October 2013 by beating Lithuania, finally breaking their curse and participating in a major tournament. They managed to finish third in a group which included

, and tasted their first victory thanks to a 3–1 win over

pipped Bosnia and Herzegovina for second place in the group with a 1–0 win marred with controversy following an incorrectly disallowed goal scored by

Edin Džeko Edin Džeko (; born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan and captains the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Džeko was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for three years in a ...

in the first half. Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers behind

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. After making an unfortunate start to the qualifiers with a surprise 2–1 home defeat against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and managing just two points through four games, manager Safet Sušić was dismissed and replaced by

Mehmed Baždarević Mehmed Baždarević (born 28 September 1960) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Ligue 2 club Guingamp. Baždarević played for Bosnian side Željezničar and French outfit Sochau ...

. After the slow start, Bosnian performance improved dramatically, with five wins in their remaining six matches, including victories over Wales and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

along with three clean sheets. However, they ultimately failed to qualify after a two legged playoff encounter with the

. Bosnia and Herzegovina failed to make back-to-back FIFA World Cups after failing to qualify to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina finished fourth in their UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying group with manager Robert Prosinečki, missing out on direct qualification. However, they qualified for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

through their performance in the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

, and with new manager

Dušan Bajević Dušan "Duško" Bajević ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Бајевић, ; gr, Ντούσαν Μπάγεβιτς, ''Doúsan Báyevits''; born 10 December 1948) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as the most succes ...

, they ultimately missed out on yet another

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

after losing to

on penalties. Following several years of disappointment, Bulgarian

Ivaylo Petev Ivaylo Bogdanov Petev ( bg, Ивайло Богданов Петев; born 9 July 1975) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He spent his whole caree ...

was named as Bosnia and Herzegovina's new manager, marking the first time a Bosnia and Herzegovina manager was not from the

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

. In their first campaign under Petev, Bosnia and Herzegovina were drawn in a group with 2018 FIFA World Cup champions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and kept their chances of qualification alive until the final two matches; ultimately failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Team image

Nickname

A popular nickname of all Bosnian national teams is "Zmajevi" ( Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian for "dragons"), popularized by football TV commentator Mustafa Mijajlović during the

vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2–4) 2010 WC qualification game on 28 March 2009. General agreement among Bosnia and Herzegovina sports fans is that this nickname has historical context, as it is considered as an allusion to the famous Bosnian general

Husein Gradaščević Husein Gradaščević (''Husein-kapetan'') (31 August 1802 – 17 August 1834) was a Bosnian military commander who later led a rebellion against the Ottoman government, seeking autonomy for Bosnia. Born into a Bosnian noble family, Gradaš� ...

, who fought for Bosnian independence, and who was known as the "Dragon of Bosnia". In both local and foreign media, they are sometimes referred to as the ''Golden Lilies'', which was the original nickname given to all of the country's national teams by fans after

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, in reference to the official state insignia at the time (the flag and the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

), which itself referred to the golden lily, the historical state insignia that was featured on the coat of arms of the ruling Bosnian medieval

Kotromanić dynasty The Kotromanić ( sr-cyrl, Котроманић, Kotromanići / Котроманићи) were members of a late medieval Bosnian noble and later royal dynasty. Rising to power in the middle of the 13th century as bans of Bosnia, with control ov ...

Home stadiums

Currently, the national team uses

Grbavica Stadium Grbavica Stadium (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian: ''Stadion Grbavica'' / Стадион Грбавица) is located in Grbavica (Sarajevo), Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This football (soccer), football stadium has terrace ...

as its home ground following its renovation in 2018. Bosnia and Herzegovina also uses Bilino Polje Stadium, located in the city of

Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The city is k ...

, for many of its home games. The stadium, built and opened in 1972, underwent many reconstruction works since 2012 in order to comply with standards needed to host international games. Another stadium Bosnia and Herzegovina has used is

Koševo City Stadium Koševo City Stadium ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Gradski stadion Koševo'' / Градски стадион Кошево), also Koševo Olympic Stadium or Stadium Asim Ferhatović - Hase (''Stadion Asim Ferhatović Hase'' / Стадион ...

. Its training ground for domestic matches is the Bosnia and Herzegovina FA Training Centre in Zenica, which was opened in 2013 in conjunction with

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

Supporters

Bosnia Soccer Fans at King Baudouin Stadium Brussels

A large number of national team's supporters come from Northern and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, North America, and some from as far away as Australia. Most of these fans are members of BHFanaticos, Belaj Boys, BHLegion, Armija Zmajeva (Dragons Army) and Ljuti Krajišnici groups. In the game against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, at the Ullevål Stadium in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

on 24 March 2007, Bosnian fans caused an hour-long delay due to an unprecedented amount of flares that had been thrown onto the pitch in protest against corruption in the (now former) Football Federation of Bosnia. On 1 June 2008, former Bosnia and Herzegovina players

Meho Kodro Mehmed "Meho" Kodro (born 12 January 1967) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. He spent most of his 16-year senior career in Spain, mostly with Real Sociedad (four seasons) and Tenerife (three ...

and

Elvir Bolić Elvir Bolić (; born 10 October 1971) is a Bosnian former footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his 18-year professional career in Turkey, appearing for seven clubs including Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. He also played three ye ...

organised a friendly humanitarian game in Sarajevo called "Kodro, Bola and Friends" between former Bosnian football legends, in order to gain support, to say its time for changes in the Bosnian Football Association. The game was organised to commence at the same time as Bosnia and Herzegovina national side faced

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

in a friendly in

. The attendance in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

was 15,000 while in

only about 50. The game in Sarajevo was organised by the Federalna TV who broadcast the humanitarian game live. A significant number of Bosnian International players were involved in the game, which ended 11–9 in favour of Team Kodro. Before every game, during the playing of the Bosnian national anthem, BH Fanaticos sing lyrics from the old national anthem

Jedna si jedina "Jedna si jedina" ("You Are the One and Only") was the national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1998. History The music was taken from the old Bosnian folk song "S one strane Plive" ("On the far bank of the Pliva river" or "On t ...

, as the current national anthem does not have any official lyrics.

Kits

Bosnia and Herzegovina's traditional kit colours are blue and white, taken from the country's flag. While the current home kits are primarily blue, and the away kits are primarily white, this colour scheme was initially used in reverse order. This is due to the fact that the flag of the

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина) was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...

(RBiH), used before the

Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски миро ...

, was predominately white. The team kit is currently produced by German sports company Adidas. The general sponsor of the team is m:tel. Also sponsoring the team are

Ziraat Bank Ziraat Bankası is a state-owned bank in Turkey founded in 1863. Offers commercial loan support to companies and tradesmen, as well as personal loans such as consumer loans, vehicle loans and housing loans. History During the first half of the 1 ...

and ASA Osiguranje. The table below shows the history of kit manufacturers for the national football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Coaching staff

Current technical staff

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for

games against

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

on 23 September and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

on 26 September 2022. ''Caps and goals correct as of 26 September 2022, after the match against

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the team within the last twelve months: ^INJ Withdrawn due to injury or illness
^RET Retired from the national team
^SUS Suspended
^WD Withdrawn

Statistics

:''Players in bold are still active with Bosnia and Herzegovina.''

Most appearances

Most goals

Most clean sheets

Captains

Emir Spahić captained Bosnia at their first ever

tournament. This is a list of Bosnia and Herzegovina captains for ten or more matches. Note: Some of the other players to have captained the team include:

(2 caps) 1996,

(5) 1997 to 1998, Vlatko Glavaš (1) 1997, Suvad Katana (2) 1998,

(6) 1999 to 2000, Bruno Akrapović (4) 1999 to 2003,

Hasan Salihamidžić Hasan Salihamidžić (; born 1 January 1977), nicknamed Brazzo ( bs, Braco, , "Little Bro"), is a Bosnian former professional footballer and current sporting director of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. After starting his club career with German s ...

(1) 2004, Zlatan Bajramović (1) 2006, Džemal Berberović (1) 2007, Asmir Begović (6) 2011 to 2020, Haris Medunjanin (4) 2016 to 2018,

Vedad Ibišević Vedad Ibišević (; born 6 August 1984) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently assistant head coach of Hertha BSC. Ibišević started his professional career at Paris Saint-Germain. He had a two-yea ...

(1) 2017,

Miralem Pjanić Miralem Pjanić (born 2 April 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Pro League club Sharjah and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Pjanić started his professional career at Metz being there for one ...

(6) 2019 to 2021, Ermin Bičakčić (1) 2019,

Sead Kolašinac Sead Kolašinac (; born 20 June 1993) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Kolašinac started his professional career at Schalke 04, playing fir ...

(2) 2021 to 2022, Ibrahim Šehić (1) 2021, Siniša Saničanin (1) 2021, Eldar Ćivić (1) 2021, Adnan Kovačević (1) 2021, Ajdin Nukić (1) 2021,

Smail Prevljak Smail Prevljak (; born 10 May 1995) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a forward for 2. Bundesliga club Hertha BSC and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Prevljak started his professional career at RB Leipzig, playing ma ...

(1) 2022. Table correct as of match played on 26 September 2022.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

Minor tournaments

FIFA ranking history

FIFA-ranking yearly averages for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their average position since FIFA World Ranking creation is 58.

Head-to-head record

Tables correct as of match played on 26 September 2022.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's all-time international record, 1995–present

Bosnia and Herzegovina's all-time record sorted by FIFA Confederations, 1995–present

Notable victories

Source: Results
*Unofficial games not included.

Honours

* UEFA Nations League B **Winners (2): 2018–19, 2022–23

Minor tournaments

* Kirin Cup **Winners (1):

* Millennium Super Cup **Runners-up (1): 2001

History

Team image

Nickname

Home stadiums

Supporters

Kits

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Current technical staff

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

Recent call-ups

Statistics

Most appearances

Most goals

Most clean sheets

Captains

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

Minor tournaments

FIFA ranking history

Head-to-head record

Notable victories

Honours

Minor tournaments

See also

References

External links