‘We can relate’: Bosnia fans bring passion, Palestine support, to World Cup
Key takeaways
- Tournament has placed Bosnia’s fans and global diaspora in the spotlight as team fights to reach Round of 16.
- Outside the restaurant, groups of men smoke cigarettes and snap photos of vehicles decked out with flags and paraphernalia.
- For members of the country’s diaspora, many of whom were displaced as a result of the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, the tournament has been a testament to the tenacity of their shared identity.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Tournament has placed Bosnia’s fans and global diaspora in the spotlight as team fights to reach Round of 16.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Bosnian fans in front of a truck decorated with paraphernalia, and the Hulk, in support of the national team and Palestine in Santa Clara, California, on June 30, 2026 [Brian Osgood/Al Jazeera]By Brian Osgood Published On 1 Jul 20261 Jul 2026Santa Clara, California — It may be the night before Bosnia and Herzegovina face off against the United States in the Round of 32 of the World Cup, but at a small restaurant serving up Balkan specialities in the city of Santa Clara, California, the party is well under way.
Waiters dart through Euro Grill, whose walls are adorned with posters from the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, serving heaping portions of cevapi and burek to groups of fans sporting the blue jerseys of the Bosnian national team on Tuesday evening.