Bosnia and Herzegovina has handed a first senior call-up to New England Revolution attacker Esmir Bajraktarevic.
The 19-year-old has been named to the country’s 26-man roster for upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against the Netherlands on September 7, and Hungary three days later.
Bajraktarevic has only represented the U.S. at the international level thus far, playing at several youth levels and making his senior debut this January against Slovenia.
The Revs star’s parents fled Bosnia in the early 1990s amid a devastating war, eventually settling in Wisconsin where Bajraktarevic was born and raised.
At a press conference on Friday, Bosnia and Herzegovina national team director Emir Spahić said that the player’s choice was clear, despite his previous representation of the United States.
“With Esmir Bajraktarevic and his father, the story from the start went in only one direction, and that is the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Spahić said. “Without a single moment of doubt, he had only one wish and that is why he is here.”
Should Bajraktarevic play for Bosnia and Herzegovina in either of its Nations League matches, he would not be permanently tied to the European nation. However, FIFA regulations would require him to wait three years before he would be able to play for the USMNT again.
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