Toronto [Canada], June 12: Edin Dzeko returns to the World Cup after 12 years at the age of 40 and the Bosnia-Herzegovina captain is still hungry for success.
"I wouldn't have thought that I would still be playing at 40," the striker told Sky TV ahead of their first World Cup match on Friday against co-hosts Canada.
"I listen to my body and train intensely before and after training. I am not the youngest and have to look after my legs and my body. That's exactly what I am doing."
Dzeko is one of only three outfield players at the tournament aged 40 or more, the others being Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric of Croatia.
Hope for knock-out rounds Dzeko has a national record 148 caps and 73 goals entering his second World Cup. The debut in 2014 ended in a group stage exit after defeats against Argentina and Nigeria and a victory against Iran.
Apart from Canada, Bosnia face Qatar and Switzerland in Group B and Dzeko said he believes that "advancing is possible.
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"But to achieve that we have to give our all. And we must keep our feet on the ground and take it game by game," he said.
"I am not the youngest but I can still contribute. We are here to achieve good results and not to party or be on holiday." Injury doubts Whether D?eko will be Friday's starting XI will be decided on short notice because he has been handicapped for weeks by a shoulder injury he sustained in March when Bosnia qualified for the World Cup with a penalty shoot-out win over Italy.
He missed the last tune-up games against North Macedonia and Panama, but coach Sergej Barbarez is just happy to have Dzeko present at all.
"When he's there, no matter what state he's in, he's worth a mint. Sometimes he can make a huge difference with just a few words. The lads listen to him. That's important," Barbarez said recently.
Schalke move Dzeko has played for clubs including Wolfsburg, Inter Milan, Roma and Manchester City and in January joined second tier German side Schalke who are now promoted to the Bundesliga.
But first comes the World Cup which will grip his entire country.
"A dream has come true for the whole of Bosnia with World Cup participation. It is incredible to have done it again. You could see it in the faces of the people who forgot about everything and just celebrated," Dzeko said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
