'I gave everything': Edin Dzeko to end international career after Sweden game next month

[p]The 40-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/schalke/0Ija0Ej9/"]Schalke 04[/a] ‌forward, who has also played for ‌clubs including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/as-roma/zVqqL0ma/"]AS Roma[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Inter ‌Milan[/a], said his final national team appearance ‌would come against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/OQyqbHWB/"]Sweden[/a] in the Nations League on October 2nd.[/p][p][b]"Nothing in my career has ‌ever compared to the pride I ⁠have felt ‌every single time I wore that shirt," [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dzeko-edin/zilGmgZq/"]Dzeko[/a] posted ​on Instagram.[/b][/p][p][b]"It was my childhood dream, a dream I carried with me ​on each of the 151 occasions I had the honour of representing my country ⁠on a ​football pitch ... Almost 20 years have passed since that match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a].[/b][/p][p][b]"So many things have changed, and I have changed too, but ‌my love for this shirt never has. Now I feel the time has come to step aside. If I have made it to the age of 40 with the national team, it is because I truly gave everything I had. Every time. Everything."[/b][/p][embed guid="7fa7da90-2041-48e4-a7f9-9e2db04168d3" url="https://www.instagram.com/edindzeko/p/Dc0VQ_6jnga/" social-type="instagram" /][p]Dzeko made his international debut in ‌2007 and has scored 73 goals in ​his 151 appearances, making him Bosnia's ‌most-capped player and all-time leading scorer.[/p][p]He helped the country qualify for their first World Cup in 2014 and also played a key role in the 2026 tournament, ⁠where they ⁠reached the last ‌32.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bosnia-herzegovina-fqe7WYTr/sweden-OQyqbHWB/?mid=rkSjXGB4"]Follow the game with Flashscore.[/a][/p]