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Edin Džeko set for 152nd and final international appearance
It promises to be an emotional night, both for the supporters in the stands at the Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica and, above all, for Edin Džeko himself. After almost two decades with the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, the striker will represent his country for the final time when they face Sweden in the UEFA Nations League on Friday (2/10, 20:45 CEST). The long-serving captain will bring the curtain down on his international career after the game.
“The closer it gets, the more emotional I become,” said Džeko. “But as soon as the whistle goes, I’ll be 100% focused on the job on the pitch.” Playing for your country is “every child’s dream”, he added, and fulfilling that dream has been the greatest thing his career has given him.
Džeko has one clear wish for his final appearance in a Bosnia and Herzegovina shirt: “I want to enjoy it and try to get a good result. We’ll give everything.” Bosnia and Herzegovina are second in Nations League Group B4 with four points from their opening two games, with Sweden top on six.
If I’ve managed to play for the national team until the age of 40, it’s because I’ve given everything I had.
There will be no changing his mind about stepping away from international football. “I feel the time has come for me to retire from the national team. If I’ve managed to play for the national team until the age of 40, it’s because I’ve given everything I had,” said Džeko.
151 caps, 73 goals
Friday’s meeting with Sweden will be Džeko’s 152nd appearance for his country. The striker made his international debut on 2nd June 2007 in a 3-2 win over Turkey and marked the occasion with his first goal for Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was part of the side that qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2014 and captained his country at their second appearance at the tournament in 2026.
No player has made more appearances for Bosnia and Herzegovina or scored more goals for the country than Džeko, who has found the net 73 times. That tally puts him seventh on the all-time list of leading goalscorers for European national teams, just two behind Hungary’s Sándor Kocsis in sixth.
Džeko will be hoping to add plenty more goals at club level with Schalke over the coming weeks and months. While his international career is coming to an end, he has no intention of calling time on his playing career just yet. As he stressed after signing another deal with the Royal Blues in the summer: “Football has made me happy and driven me throughout my life. I am still hungry.”
