Bosnian trailblazer Ibisevic quits national team

Sarajevo (AFP) – Veteran striker Vedad Ibisevic, who scored the goal that took Bosnia to their first World Cup finals and then found the net again when they got there, quit the national team on Saturday.

The 33-year-old Ibisevic decided to call time on his 10-year international career after Bosnia failed to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Hertha Berlin attacker scored 28 goals in 82 games.

Ibisevic grabbed the goal in a 1-0 win over Lithuania in October 2013 which qualified Bosnia for their first World Cup and then became the first Bosnian to score at a finals in the game against Argentina.

Bosnia were eliminated in the first round in Brazil in 2014 in what was their only appearance in a major international tournament since independence in 1992.

“I had decided to bid farewell to the national team if we didn’t qualify for the World Cup in Russia. Since the last qualifying match, I have thought about it for a long time and taken the decision to retire,” Ibisevic said.

Bosnia finished third in their qualifying group behind Belgium and Greece.