(WFRV) – While he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina men’s national team, he hails from right here in northeast Wisconsin and he’ll forever be etched in international soccer/football history.
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21-year-old Esmir Bajraktarević, born in Appleton, plays for his parents’ home nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; however, he spent a couple of years playing for academy teams in Milwaukee, Waukesha and for a season with the Chicago Fire’s Academy.
On Tuesday, Bajraktarević etched his name in history, as his winning penalty in the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs sent Bosnia and Herzegovina to the World Cup, set to kick off this summer in North America.
But what’s arguably the most incredible piece of lore from the 21-year-old winger’s winning kick was that it came against the Italian national team, a nation with four World Cup victories and arguably the best goalkeeper on the planet, in Gianluigi Donnarumma.
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The winning penalty knocked Italy out of qualification, marking the first time that a prior World Cup winner had missed three straight renditions of the tournament, while sending Bosnia and Herzegovina to its first World Cup in 12 years.
Bajraktarević currently plays his club football in the Netherlands for PSV Eindhoven, after multiple seasons with the New England Revolution.
