Esmir Bajraktarevic’s Bosnia choice shaped by family’s Srebrenica trauma ahead of Canada opener | OneFootball

US-born PSV winger Esmir Bajraktarevic has chosen Bosnia and Herzegovina. They open their World Cup on Friday against Canada, a choice rooted in his family’s Srebrenica story.

According to L'Équipe, his parents, Emina and Elmir, were forced into exile after the July 1995 Srebrenica genocide. Over 10 days more than 8,000 Bosniaks were killed, amid the passivity of Dutch UN peacekeepers.

They fled Yugoslavia, moved to Switzerland, then resettled in Appleton, Wisconsin in 2002 through a refugee programme. Born in Wisconsin, he says the family kept Bosnian language and food at home, and he visited the Potocari memorial in summer 2017.

He came through New England Revolution’s academy, reached US youth teams and debuted for the seniors in January 2024. He then switched allegiance, leaving those 29 US minutes as his only senior action, and made his Bosnia debut in September 2024. He grew up idolising Edin Dzeko and quickly supplied him, creating a goal within five minutes against the Netherlands on his first night under Sergej Barbarez, a 5-2 game.

On 31 March in Zenica he sealed qualification by scoring in the shootout against Italy after 1-1, 4-1 on penalties. He beat Gianluigi Donnarumma as the fourth taker after Bryan Cristante’s miss, then gave his shirt to his parents.

He says he is happy Dzeko can enjoy another World Cup and they will try to give him a fitting last dance. With the tournament on home soil for him, his thoughts before kick-off will be with his parents and with Srebrenica.

Source: L'Équipe