When Bosnian fans unfurled a banner reading “I am from Bosnia, take me to America,” during Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup qualifying run, Dubioza Kolektiv bassist Vedran Mujagić considered the reference to his band’s 2011 song “U.S.A.” to be a bit of dark humor.“It was a joke,” he says. “In that moment, it looked like science fiction that Bosnia would win (against) Wales and then Italy a couple of days later.”But then, in the World Cup play-off semi-final, Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Wales on penalties. A few days later, they did it again, shocking the world by denying Italy in the play-off final and booking their ticket to the tournament instead.Suddenly, the ironic became very real.With Bosnia and Herzegovina headed to its second-ever World Cup — in North America, no less — the band decided to release a new version of “U.S.A.” tailored to the tournament.“And from that moment, it spiraled out of our control,” Mujagić said.Now, the song’s catchy opening line — “I am from Bosnia, take me to America” — is everywhere, embraced far beyond the Balkans. On Wednesday, the song will reach the peak of its prophecy, when the U.S. plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California.“People started accusing us that we are the Simpsons, because we predicted this years ago,” Mujagić said, referring to a cultural phenomenon in which episodes of The Simpsons have resembled real-life events that occurred years later. “The fact that the game against the U.S. is played in the San Francisco Bay area and the Golden Gate is in the chorus of the song, it’s kind of a prophecy that’s coming true.”But Dubioza Kolektiv never set out to write a song predicting a round of 32 matchup at the 2026 World Cup. The band originally wrote “U.S.A.” to comment on Bosnian brain drain in the wake of the war in the 1990s, and disillusionment with the American dream.