Mladen Jurkas #12

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Things have moved quickly for this teenager. This time last year, Jurkas was gaining first-team experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second tier; barely 12 months later, he finds himself on the plane to the World Cup. Jurkas made his senior debut for Borac Banja Luka at just 17 and this season established himself as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper. Borac won their fourth league title while he kept 16 clean sheets in 31 appearances – numbers that initially earned him a place on Bosnia’s reserve list for this summer. But after Osman Hadzikic got injured in a warm-up friendly against North Macedonia, Jurkas received a late call-up, turning what had already been a remarkable year into something even more improbable for the 18-year-old.

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