Bosnia and Herzegovina Reaches World Cup Knockout Stage for First Time

Bosnia and Herzegovina reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time in its history, CBS Sports reported. The team defeated Wales in a qualifying playoff in Cardiff and then beat Italy on penalties in the next playoff match. A song by Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv became the team's unofficial anthem during the run.

Supporters displayed a 20-meter banner with the new title during the Wales match, turning the track into a rallying cry. Esmir Bajraktarevic, born in Wisconsin and a former United States youth international, scored the decisive penalty against Italy. Bosnia and Herzegovina will now face the United States men's national team at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The team is based in St. Louis for the tournament because of the city's large Bosnian diaspora. Verdran Mujagic, a founder and bassist of Dubioza Kolektiv, said the banner and song began as a joke when qualification looked unlikely.

"It all started as a very Bosnian type of joke, because we didn't have anything to do with it," Mujagic stated. A supporters' football-themed version recorded after the playoffs includes the line "Take me to Golden Gate. " Mujagic noted that the original lyrics depict a naive desire to leave home for an American dream.

The song was written in the shadow of the Bosnian War and genocide from 1992 to 1995. More members of the current squad are children of refugees rather than refugees themselves. Mujagic said the track is helping shift associations with Bosnia and Herzegovina away from the 1990s conflict toward the national team and its supporters.

"This is something that we hope will have a positive result because when people stop having the first association when they hear the word Bosnia and Herzegovina, being war and being these horrific things that happened in the 90s," Mujagic stated.