Bosnia and Herzegovina captain Edin Džeko etched his name FIFA World Cup history despite his team facing an uphill battle against the United States in their round of 16 clash, becoming the oldest ever outfielder to start a Men’s World Cup knockout match.At 40 years and 106 days, the veteran forward surpassed all previous outfielders to appear in the knockout rounds, becoming the first outfielder aged 40 or older to appear in a World Cup knockout match.However, the milestone could turn out to be one of the shortest in tournament history. If Luka Modric (40 years, 296 days) starts for Croatia or Cristiano Ronaldo (41 years, 147 days) was named in Portugal’s starting 11 for their Round of 16 games in Vancouver, both veterans would eclipse Jack’s record less than 24 hours later.The historic evening, however, got off to a painful start at the beginning of the second half.Five minutes into the restart, Bosnia briefly kicked the ball out of play after Dzeko went down clutching his leg after what appeared to be a non-contact injury. The inspirational captain was unable to continue and was replaced, bringing his landmark performance to an unfortunate end.The United States lead 1-0 thanks to Folarin Balogun’s goal in first-half stoppage time. The striker reacted the fastest to the loose ball in the penalty area and scored his third goal of the tournament and gave the host a key advantage before the end.The contest has since taken another dramatic turn, with Balogun red carded following a VAR review, reducing the United States to 10 men for the final half hour of regulation time. The dismissal has given Bosnia renewed hope as they try to equalize against a side now focused on protecting their slim lead.Regardless of the final outcome, Džeka’s performance has already secured him a place in the World Cup record books — even if the achievement could be surpassed within a day if Modric or Ronaldo start for their nations.
