English Premier League
Edin Dzeko to retire from international football after Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sweden game
Edin Dzeko will end his international career with Bosnia and Herzegovina after their Nations League match against Sweden on 2 October, bringing an end to one of the country’s most distinguished football careers.
The 40-year-old striker, who has won 151 caps and scored 73 goals for his country, confirmed on Thursday that the home fixture against Sweden will be his final appearance for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dzeko is the nation’s record goalscorer and has served as captain as well as one of the central figures in its football history.
His announcement comes only days after several high-profile players made similar decisions. Argentina forward Lionel Messi, Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Germany defender Antonio Rudiger have all recently announced their international retirements.
Dzeko made his Bosnia and Herzegovina debut in 2007 and has represented the national side for almost two decades. He was also involved in this summer’s World Cup, leading his team before Bosnia and Herzegovina were eliminated by the United States in the round of 32.
The forward scored six goals during qualifying and played an important role in helping Bosnia and Herzegovina reach the World Cup for only the second time in the country’s history.
His farewell will take place on home soil against Sweden. Bosnia and Herzegovina will then face Poland three days later, with Dzeko no longer part of the squad’s international campaign.
In a lengthy message published on social media, Dzeko said he had often imagined the moment when he would leave international football but had not expected the emotions that would accompany it.
“Sometimes I found myself wondering when this moment would come… but I never imagined the scale of the emotion I would feel while writing these words,” he wrote.
“On 2 October, against Sweden, I will play my next and final match for our national team. Nothing in my sporting career compares with the feeling of pride and honour I felt every time I wore this shirt. Nothing at all.”
Dzeko described representing his country as a childhood dream and said he had carried that ambition into each of his 151 appearances.
“It was my childhood dream, a dream I carried with me on every occasion out of the 151 times I had the honour of representing my country on the pitch,” he added. “I was always proud to perform this duty, just as I was the first time.”
“Twenty years have passed since that match against Turkey. Many things have changed, and I have changed too, but my love for this shirt has never changed. Now I feel that the time has come to step aside. If I continued with the national team until the age of 40, it is because I truly gave everything I had. Every time, I gave everything.”
“Playing for my country was the most precious emotional opportunity football gave me.”
Dzeko also recalled Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first World Cup qualification in 2014 as one of the happiest moments of his playing life. He said the feelings created by scoring against Wales and then Italy in March would remain with him forever, while watching people celebrate in the streets of the country’s cities had been another remarkable gift.
He said he would later have time to thank everyone who had supported him throughout his international journey, but asked supporters to attend the Sweden match so they could share one final emotional occasion.
“I want to experience my final night representing my country with all of you by my side, wearing the shirt I have loved since I was a child the shirt I will continue to love for the rest of my life,” Dzeko concluded.
