Bosnia and Herzegovina had a draw against Austria on Tuesday, November 18, in a game they needed to win. The Bosnia World Cup journey took another major hit two days later, as they found out their playoff fate.
Bosnian World Cup Qualifiers: What Next?
Now that the Dragons, as they are affectionately known, have finished second in their qualifying group and failed to get straight into the world’s greatest sporting event, they will have to make it through an incredibly difficult World Cup qualifiers play-off path.
First, coach Sergej Barbarez’s men must defeat Wales away in the semifinal round, which will be difficult enough to be sure, as Bosnia have reached many qualifying playoffs in the past, especially for Euros, without ever winning one.
But even if they were to come out victorious from the encounter with the Welsh, the team from the Balkan nation of just over three million people would most likely have to take on four-time World Cup winners Italy, the team everyone wanted to avoid having to face in the final.
The Italians themselves take on Northern Ireland in the semis, a task they should master with ease.
The small silver lining for the winners of the Wales-Bosnia tie is that they will host the qualifying final. That in itself, though, is unlikely to truly awaken the Bosnia World Cup dreams.
As mentioned above, the Wales encounter itself is a tough task for the Dragons, who’ve seen a major turn of fortunes under Barbarez, as the former Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen striker has certainly rejuvenated and breathed new life into this struggling national team.
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Euphoria in a Football-Mad Country
Before the aforementioned 1-1 draw with Austria, the Bosnians had a big 3-1 home victory over Romania, which made certain that they would reach at least the playoffs. This brought incredible joy to people inside Bosnia, as well as to the country’s large diaspora around the world.
This, in turn, caused a major run on the available tickets for the Austria match, in which victory would have sent the Dragons to only their second ever World Cup finals tournament as an independent country.
It nearly happened, as with the support of tens of thousands of fans in Vienna, Bosnia held a 1-0 lead from the 12th to the 77th minute, which Haris Tabaković gave them, until Michael Gregoritch scored the heartbreaking equaliser.
But as we know, in football as in life itself, almost doesn’t mean anything. As it is, they now must master this difficult playoff path in order to make Bosnian World Cup dreams come true.
Young Talents Promise A Bright Future
Whatever happens in the World Cup qualifiers play-offs, though, the Dragons have a young squad with a promising, bright future ahead. Particularly, 20-year-old PSV man Esmir Bajraktarević and 19-year-old Kerim Alajbegović of Red Bull Salzburg are hopefuls for the future and have already proven to be useful in the present.
As long as the notoriously corrupt FA doesn’t stand in the way of success too much, runs in major tournaments are a possibility for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Recently, Croatia captain Luka Modrić has wished them luck. He knows how to put a small country on the map of world football.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Gonzales Photo
Recording Date: 18.11.2025
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