Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović supported the Dragons ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina's match against Canada at the World Cup
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, former President of the Republic of Croatia, publicly supported the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team ahead of its match against Canada at the 2026 World Cup. According to reports by Croatian media that relayed her Instagram post, she sent the message on June 12, the day of Bosnia and Herzegovina's first appearance in Group B. In the post, she emphasized that she was cheering for the Dragons out of neighborly spirit, friendship and personal sympathy, and described Bosnia and Herzegovina as a neighboring and friendly country. Her message attracted attention because it referred to a match that has strong sporting and symbolic significance for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team: it marks a return to football's biggest stage after its appearance at the 2014 World Cup.
According to FIFA's official schedule and information from the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina is played on June 12 in Toronto, at Toronto Stadium, as part of the first round of Group B. Switzerland and Qatar are also in the same group, and UEFA, in its overview of BiH's appearances, states that Sergej Barbarez's players will face Switzerland on June 18 in Los Angeles after Canada, and then Qatar on June 24 in Seattle. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, this is the second appearance at World Cups in its independent history, after the tournament in Brazil in 2014, where it ended the competition in the group stage. Precisely for this reason, the first match against Canada carries not only competitive weight but also a broader emotional charge for fans, players and the sporting public in the region.
A message in the tone of neighborliness and sporting friendship
Grabar-Kitarović, according to the text reported by Dnevnik.hr and 24sata, said that on June 12 she would cheer for the Dragons "out of neighborly spirit, friendship and, I admit, with a lot of sympathy". In the same address, she emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina is playing on the world's biggest football stage and that this is a great moment for all its citizens. In the message, she added that neighbors, as she stated, are supported with all one's heart, with the remark that an exception can be made when they play against each other. Such a tone fits into her earlier public image as a politician who often appeared in a sporting context and openly followed the performances of football national teams.
In her post, the former president particularly emphasized that she sees Bosnia and Herzegovina as a friendly country and as an area important to the Croatian people. That formulation has a political and social context, because the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its preamble names Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs as constituent peoples, along with Others and the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nevertheless, in this case her post was primarily a fan message and tied to a sporting event, without additional political demands or comments. According to the available information, the message was aimed at supporting the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team and expressing the wish that the team play bravely, proudly and combatively.
In the same address, Grabar-Kitarović did not omit Canada either. According to the relayed post, she wished Canada a good match, but jokingly added that she would like it not to prove to be too great a sporting power against the Dragons. That part of the message resonated especially strongly because the former president spent part of her diplomatic career in Canada. The official biography of the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia states that in 1997 she went to the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Canada, where she served as counsellor, and later as minister counsellor and deputy head of mission. For that reason, her message ahead of the match also has a personal dimension, because it connects the country in which she served with the national team of a neighboring state to which she publicly expressed support.
BiH returns to the World Cup after twelve years
According to UEFA's overview of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team at the 2026 World Cup, Sergej Barbarez's team enters the tournament with captain Edin Džeko and a squad that combines experience with younger players. UEFA states that this is Bosnia and Herzegovina's second appearance at World Cups and that its best result so far remains its group-stage appearance in 2014. Bosnia and Herzegovina then played in Brazil against Argentina, Nigeria and Iran, and finished the competition third in the group, with a victory against Iran in the final round. The return to the 2026 tournament is therefore viewed in sporting terms as a new opportunity for a national team that waited a long time for a second appearance on the global stage.
The road to the tournament is also part of the broader story. UEFA states that Bosnia and Herzegovina finished second in Group H in qualifying, and then secured qualification through the play-offs. In the play-off semi-final it defeated Wales after penalties, and in the final, also after penalties, it was more successful than Italy. Such an outcome further increased expectations, but also the emotional value of the World Cup appearance. Qualification against national teams with a strong football tradition reinforced the impression that BiH is coming to Canada, Mexico and the United States not merely as a participant, but as a team that has already gone through a series of high-pressure matches.
The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina published the World Cup squad list in May, and among the players are experienced names such as Edin Džeko, Sead Kolašinac and Nikola Vasilj, as well as younger players such as Esmir Bajraktarević and Kerim Alajbegović. UEFA, in its overview, particularly singles out Džeko as the national team's most prominent name, noting that he is the captain, top scorer and most-capped player in the history of the national side. His role for BiH has sporting but also symbolic significance, because he represents continuity with the generation that took the country to the World Cup for the first time. Alongside him, Barbarez's team is trying to build a new balance between experience, physical play and younger energy.
Canada opens Group B on home soil
The match against Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the most important moments in Canada's football calendar in 2026. Canada Soccer announced that Jesse Marsch's national team is appearing at the World Cup with 26 players, and that the tournament is being played from June 11 to July 19 in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Canada is one of the three hosts, so the match in Toronto has additional importance for the country's football association, fans and players. According to Canada Soccer's announcement, the national team will play all its Group B matches in Canada, against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto and against Qatar and Switzerland in Vancouver.
The Canadian squad is led by players who have significantly raised the national team's international reputation in recent years. Canada Soccer's official announcement lists Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Stephen Eustáquio, Tajon Buchanan and Cyle Larin among the names on the tournament roster. In the Canadian football context, the fact that the national team appeared at the 2022 World Cup for the first time after a long absence stands out in particular, while in 2026 it is playing in front of a home crowd in a much larger competition format. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, this means that in the first round it is not only playing against an opponent with high-quality individuals, but also against one of the tournament hosts.
FIFA has planned an expanded format for the 2026 World Cup with 48 national teams and 104 matches, making the tournament the largest in the history of the competition. The hosts are Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, and matches are being played in 16 cities. Such a format brings a greater number of participants, but also a different group dynamic, because after the first round the two best teams from each group and the eight best third-placed national teams qualify for the knockout stage. In that framework, every point in the group has significant value, and opening matches often determine the pressure and tactical approach for the rest of the tournament.
Public support that goes beyond one match
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's post also drew attention because it comes from a politician who has for years been publicly associated with football fandom. Her visibility during the 2018 World Cup was one of the more internationally noticed images of that tournament, and after her presidential term she continued to take part in international forums and sports organizations. The official biography of the International Olympic Committee states that she has been an IOC member since 2020, while the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia states that she served as President of the Republic of Croatia from 2015 to 2020. For that reason, her fan message was not perceived only as a comment by a private individual, but also as a statement by a public figure with a recognizable sporting profile.
In the public sphere, such messages often carry symbolic weight greater than a sporting prediction itself. Support for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team from a neighboring country can be read as a gesture of sporting friendship, especially at a time when BiH is returning to the world stage after a long period of waiting. At the same time, it is a message that retains a light tone, with elements of humor toward Canada and without dramatic political formulations. It is precisely this combination of neighborliness, personal biography and the football moment that explains why the post attracted the attention of portals and social media users.
For the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, the start of the tournament against Canada represents an opportunity to confirm its competitiveness in Group B already in the first round. According to the official schedule, after the match in Toronto come fixtures against Switzerland and Qatar, which will decide the standings and possible passage to the next phase. In such a schedule, the match against the host can be the most demanding because of the atmosphere, travel and pressure from the home crowd, but also an opportunity for a strong result that would change the tone of the entire group. The Dragons enter the tournament with a captain who symbolizes the most successful period of Bosnian-Herzegovinian football and with a generation that is trying to open a new chapter.
That is precisely why the message of the former Croatian president did not remain just an incidental post on social media. It became part of the broader atmosphere ahead of a match that has significance for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada and fans who follow the World Cup beyond the borders of the participating countries. The sporting result will be decided on the pitch in Toronto, but the fan tone had already shown before the first whistle how much football tournaments can open space for gestures of closeness, identity and neighborly following. For the Dragons, the first test in Group B is also a test against a host, and for all those following their appearance, the start of the tournament carries an anticipation that has been building for years.
Sources:
- Dnevnik.hr / Showbuzz – report on Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's Instagram post and relayed statements ahead of the BiH and Canada match (link)
- 24sata – report on Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's message and the time of Bosnia and Herzegovina's match against Canada (link)
- FIFA – official information on the Canada – Bosnia and Herzegovina match at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- UEFA – overview of Bosnia and Herzegovina's appearance at the 2026 World Cup, schedule, history and qualifying path (link)
- Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina – official publication of the squad list and match schedule in Group B (link)
- Canada Soccer – official announcement of the Canadian squad list and match schedule in Group B (link)
- Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia – official biography of Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, including diplomatic service in Canada and the presidential term (link)
- Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina – text of the Constitution of BiH and the provision on constituent peoples (link)