Panama vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina: A final World Cup friendly test for the Canaleros | All you need to know about the rival of the Panamanians for the World Cup friendly match | Panama vs Bosnia and Herzegovina | Preview, match of two World Cup teams | Bosnia and Herzegovina has sealed its passport for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ after an epic qualification that culminated in an explosion of joy in the Zenica Stadium. The Balkan team, born in 1993 after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, will participate for the second time in its history in the highest football event, after its memorable debut in Brazil 2014. A qualification from the heart The Bosnian feat was forged in Route A of the UEFA qualifiers, where the team showed steel resistance by overcoming two consecutive penalty shootouts. After drawing 1-1 against Wales in the semifinals, the team repeated the script in the final against Italy. Young Esmir Bajraktarević became a hero by scoring the decisive penalty against Gianluigi Donnarumma, unleashing the madness of a fanbase that chanted: "I am Bosnian, take me to North America." The Barbarez factor and the eternal Džeko The current success bears the stamp of coach Sergej Barbarez, a charismatic figure who, in addition to being a Bundesliga legend, is a professional poker player. Barbarez has managed to amalgamate a group that combines the freshness of talents like Kerim Alajbegović with the hierarchy of captain Edin Džeko. At 40 years old, Džeko is not only the player with the most caps and the country's all-time top scorer, but he was the offensive engine in qualification with six vital goals. Roadmap for the 2026 World Cup After being eliminated in the group stage in their only previous participation, the Bosnian team arrives with the ambition to make history in a group that will take them through the three venues of the tournament: June 12: Debut against host Canada in Toronto. June 18: Clash against Switzerland in Los Angeles. June 24: Closing of the initial phase against Qatar in Seattle. With a 4-4-2 tactical scheme and a defense led by the experienced Sead Kolašinac, Bosnia and Herzegovina presents itself as an unpredictable and motivated rival to surpass its historical records on North American soil. As last-minute information, it became known that the great Edin Džeko will not be part of the Balkan eleven against his Panamanian counterpart. List of the 26 players called up by Bosnia-Herzegovina: Goalkeepers: Nikola Vasilj (St. Pauli/GER), Martin Zlomislic (Rijeka/CRO), Osman Hadzikic (Slaven Belupo Koprivnica/CRO) Defend | Src: TVN Panamá (PA)

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.