The $30 million World Cup anthem

A Bosnian band's updated song has become a viral soccr anthem for Bosnia's 2026 World Cup campaign, uniting the nation with lyrics that address past trauma and celebrate working-class roots.

The Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv has seen its song 'I Am From Bosnia, Take Me to America' become an unexpected anthem for the national soccer team's 2026 World Cup journey.

Originally released as 'USA' in 2012, the song was a satirical take on immigration and the American Dream.

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The band rewrote the lyrics in Bosnian to transform it into a soccer anthem after fans began singing it at matches.

The new version has garnered nearly 2 million YouTube views in less than three weeks, adding to the original's 26 million views.

The band members expressed surprise at how fans have adopted the song, loading it with new meaning.

Keyboardist Brano Jakubovic noted that the song is no longer theirs; it belongs to the supporters.

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The song addresses a national trauma from the 2014 World Cup when Bosnia lost to Nigeria due to an offside goal that many Bosnians dispute.

The line 'And that goal against Nigeria, that was never offside' is a cathartic release.

Bosnia-Herzegovina is making only its second World Cup appearance, and the song has become a rallying cry for unity in a country still healing from the 1990s war.

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The band believes football in this moment is more than a game;it's a political force that brings people together.

Bosnia's first match is in Canada, but the team will indeed be taken to America for the tournament .

The song's evolution from a satirical immigration tale to a soccer anthem reflects the power of music to adapt and unite.

The band members met with the Associated Press in the Sarajevo neighborhood where the music video was filmed, at a soccer playground that represents the working-class roots of the sport.

Bassist Vedran Mujagic described how the song evolved over 15 years from a satirical take on immigration to a dream for the entire nation.