Džeko remained on the bench against Canada: Bosnia and Herzegovina started cautiously in Toronto with the captain returning after a shoulder injury
Edin Džeko was not among Bosnia and Herzegovina's starters in the match against Canada at the 2026 World Cup, played on June 12 in Toronto, but began the encounter on the bench. According to the line-ups published before the duel, head coach Sergej Barbarez decided to start at the top of the attack without the experienced captain, although a day earlier he had said that Džeko would be available for the match. The decision was not a surprise given that the 40-year-old striker had been returning in recent weeks after a shoulder injury and had limited minutes ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina's first appearance at this tournament. For the coaching staff, that meant finding a balance between Džeko's enormous experience and the need to send out a fully fit team from the first minute against a physically intense Canada.
Bosnia and Herzegovina opened the World Cup against the hosts in Group B, which also includes Switzerland and Qatar, and FIFA's match schedule confirms that the meeting with Canada is the first appearance of Sergej Barbarez's team at the tournament. For the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, it is a return to the world stage after 12 years, because its only previous appearance at the World Cup was in 2014 in Brazil. That is precisely why every decision before the match with Canada was followed with special attention, and Džeko's status had been the main squad issue since the final stage of the play-off qualifiers. The captain remained an important part of the plan, but his start on the bench showed that the national team had decided not to take a risk from the first minute.
The injury from the dramatic finale of qualification changed the preparation for the tournament
Džeko was injured at the end of March, in the closing stage of the play-off qualifying match against Italy in Zenica. Bundesliga reported that the then Schalke striker injured his shoulder in the final moments of the match and therefore could not take a penalty in the shootout, although he had previously played all 120 minutes. According to an Associated Press report carried by Fox Sports, Džeko remained on the pitch after Davide Frattesi's challenge just before the end of extra time, and Bosnia and Herzegovina then secured the World Cup by winning the shootout. That detail further emphasized his role in the national team, but at the same time opened the question of how ready the captain would be for the June tournament in North America.
The shoulder injury was not just a short-term episode ahead of the end of the club season. According to available information from reports before the match in Toronto, Džeko had been working on an adapted programme in recent weeks and did not have the rhythm usually expected from a striker who is supposed to carry a large part of the burden in the national team. RotoWire stated at the beginning of June that he had not appeared in the final warm-up match against Panama because the coaching staff wanted to prepare him for the opener against Canada. Northern Tribune then reported that Džeko had worked separately from the rest of the team at the beginning of the week in Toronto, noting that he had accumulated very few minutes in the period after the injury. In such circumstances, starting on the bench was logical caution, not a sign that the striker had lost importance in the national team.
Barbarez tried to calm the public the day before the match. According to Asharq Al-Awsat's report from the press conference, the head coach said that Džeko would be with the team against Canada and would play “as usual”. However, the official line-up for the match showed a different assessment regarding the starting eleven. That does not necessarily mean a contradiction, but probably points to the difference between being available to play and being ready for full intensity from the start of the match. In modern football, such decisions are especially important at major tournaments, where one premature return can endanger not only one match but also the continuation of the competition.
Barbarez opted for a more mobile attack
According to the published line-ups, Bosnia and Herzegovina started from the first minute with Nikola Vasilj in goal, and in front of him were Amar Dedić, Nikola Katić, Tarik Muharemović and Sead Kolašinac. In midfield and the attacking section, Esmir Bajraktarević, Ivan Bašić, Benjamin Tahirović, Amar Memić, Ermedin Demirović and Jovo Lukić were listed. Džeko was among the substitutes, together with Haris Tabaković, Kerim Alajbegović and other options who can change the rhythm of the match. Such a choice suggests that the coaching staff wanted more running, verticality and pressure on Canada's back line in the opening phase of the duel.
That is especially important against Canada, a team that relies on a high tempo, quick transitions and athletically strong players. Džeko's absence from the starting line-up allowed Bosnia and Herzegovina to start with attacking solutions that can press the hosts' back line more and drop into the block more quickly when the opponent has the ball. Džeko, on the other hand, still offers what cannot simply be replaced: playing with his back to goal, protecting the ball under pressure, experience in the penalty area and the ability to turn one situation into a goal. That is precisely why his role from the bench can be significant if the match opens up in the second half or if Bosnia and Herzegovina need a calmer finish to attacks.
This division of roles is not unusual for veterans returning after injury. A striker of Džeko's profile is often most dangerous when the opposing defence loses freshness and the match becomes tactically less controlled. In that scenario, his height, vision and sense of space can bring added value, even if he does not play a larger number of minutes. For Barbarez, it was therefore important to preserve an option that can change the character of the match, instead of exposing the captain to the most demanding part of the encounter from the very beginning.
Džeko's symbolic and sporting weight for the national team
Džeko is much more to Bosnia and Herzegovina than one of the strikers on the team sheet. According to data cited in several reports before the tournament, he is the national team's all-time leading scorer, and Asharq Al-Awsat states a tally of 73 goals. Ahead of the World Cup, Associated Press recalled that his goals and appearances had played a key role in Bosnia and Herzegovina's qualification for the tournament, including a goal in the closing stage of the play-off semi-final against Wales. In the additional qualifying cycle, Bosnia and Herzegovina first got past Wales and then Italy, thereby securing its second appearance on the world stage as an independent state.
In the national-team context, Džeko is the link between the generation that played in Brazil in 2014 and the new squad trying to make a step forward at the tournament with an expanded format. FIFA introduced a competition with 48 national teams for the 2026 World Cup, and the larger number of participants created more room for teams that had not previously reached the finals regularly. Still, Bosnia and Herzegovina's return cannot be reduced only to the expansion of the tournament, because the team reached qualification through demanding play-offs. Barbarez emphasized at the press conference that his national team is often expected to play the role of outsider, but also that its results must be appreciated given the circumstances and the path to the finals.
Džeko's start on the bench therefore has two dimensions. In sporting terms, it is an assessment of physical condition and tactical demands against an opponent playing in front of its home crowd. Symbolically, it is a reminder that Bosnia and Herzegovina at this tournament stands between relying on its most experienced players and the need for younger footballers to take over space. Players such as Esmir Bajraktarević, Kerim Alajbegović, Benjamin Tahirović and others represent a new phase of the national team, while Džeko remains a figure who can give them stability in moments of greatest pressure. That very combination of experience and energy should be one of the foundations of Barbarez's plan in Group B.
Canada opened the home part of the tournament under great pressure
The match in Toronto was not important only for Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to FIFA's match centre, the Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina match is being played at Toronto Stadium, and for Canada it is the first appearance in the home part of the 2026 World Cup. In its preview of the match, The Guardian pointed out that Canada, one of the three hosts of the tournament, is looking for its first positive result at World Cups after losing all six matches in its previous appearances in 1986 and 2022. Such a fact further increases the pressure on Jesse Marsch's team, which wants to open the tournament in front of its home crowd with a result that would give it a realistic chance of advancing from the group.
The Canadian squad also had important personnel issues. According to the published line-ups, Alphonso Davies was among the substitutes, while the starting attack was led by Jonathan David alongside Tani Oluwaseyi. Reports before the encounter stated that Davies was returning after injury problems, so Canada also had an element of caution with one of its best-known players. In that sense, the story about Džeko was not the only one connected to the readiness of key footballers. Both national teams had to assess how much they could risk at the beginning of a tournament in which the rhythm of matches quickly accelerates.
For Bosnia and Herzegovina, that meant it had to open the match in a disciplined way and without relying on the assumption that Džeko would carry the attack from the first minute. In such a plan, the role of Demirović, Lukić and the midfielders who needed to connect pressing, transition and finishing was important. If Bosnia and Herzegovina manages to keep the match open, Džeko's possible entry from the bench becomes a strong tactical asset. If Canada imposes a high tempo and takes control early, Barbarez will have to assess whether the captain is needed earlier or whether it is better to save him for the final stages of the encounter.
The captain as an option for the finish, not outside the plan
The most important difference in interpreting Džeko's status is the one between being unready for the starting line-up and being unavailable for the match. The official line-ups and match reports clearly show that he did not start, but also that he was among the substitutes. That means the coaching staff did not rule him out, but probably intended him for situations in which experience and a specific attacking profile can have the greatest effect. In the closing stages of matches at major tournaments, tiny details often decide things: a set piece, a second ball, a mistake under pressure or one quality cut-back into the penalty area.
During his career, Džeko has built a reputation precisely in such situations as a striker who can decide a match even when he is not constantly in possession. His value for Bosnia and Herzegovina is not only in the number of goals, but also in the fact that opposing defences have to change the way they play when he appears on the pitch. Centre-backs have to be closer, full-backs have to watch crosses, and the midfield has to close down space for the second ball more quickly. That can open space for other Bosnia and Herzegovina players, especially those who attack from the second line.
Barbarez's decision can therefore be read as an attempt to manage risk. The captain is important enough to be on the team sheet and remain ready to come on, but his shoulder is still a sensitive enough issue that starting from the first minute was not the most reasonable choice. In addition, the first group match rarely decides everything, but it can significantly shape the tournament. After Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina has matches against Switzerland and Qatar, so the health of its most experienced striker will remain one of the key questions for the continuation of the competition.
What Džeko's status means for the continuation of Group B
FIFA's schedule for Bosnia and Herzegovina after Toronto provides for a match against Switzerland in Los Angeles on June 18 and a duel with Qatar in Seattle on June 24. That means the coaching staff must think more broadly than one evening in Toronto. If Džeko can gradually increase his minutes, his role could grow as the tournament progresses. If it turns out that the shoulder still limits his play in duels, Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to find a more stable solution with Demirović, Lukić, Tabaković or other attacking options.
For a national team that has returned to the World Cup after a long wait, managing Džeko's minutes may be just as important as the tactical preparation itself. According to everything published before the match, the captain is not out of contention, but he is not in a condition in which the coaching staff could ignore the previous shoulder problems either. That is why the decision for him to begin the match against Canada on the bench was a compromise between the desire to use his authority and the need for the team to rely from the first minute on players ready for maximum intensity.
The match against Canada thus opened for Bosnia and Herzegovina more than just the sporting question of the result. It showed how Barbarez will have to manage the tournament: on the one hand relying on the most experienced player and captain, and on the other gradually giving more space to footballers who can handle the tempo and physical demands of the World Cup. Džeko remains an important option for the continuation of the match and the entire group, but his start on the bench in Toronto clearly says that every minute will be carefully measured.
Sources:
- FIFA – official match centre for the Canada - Bosnia and Herzegovina match at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – Bosnia and Herzegovina squad list and match schedule in Group B (link)
- 101 Great Goals – confirmed Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina line-ups before the match in Toronto (link)
- Bundesliga – report on Džeko's shoulder injury after the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy match (link)
- Fox Sports / Associated Press – context of Bosnia and Herzegovina's qualification for the World Cup and Džeko's injury in the play-off qualifiers (link)
- Asharq Al-Awsat – report from Sergej Barbarez's press conference before the match with Canada (link)
- The Guardian – live report and confirmation of line-ups for the Canada - Bosnia and Herzegovina match (link)