Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Qatar 3:1 and move closer to the round of 16

The deserved reward came through a young attacker: 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic, who is moving from Salzburg to Bayer Leverkusen and was born in Cologne, gave Bosnia the lead in the 29th minute with a screamer. His finish from roughly 18 to 20 meters landed almost exactly in the top corner; speed measurements indicated the ball struck the right corner at up to 100 km/h. For the youngster, it was already his second goal in his 13th international appearance.

A furious start and a screamer

Just five minutes later, Bosnia extended their lead. Sead Kolasinac crossed from the left, Edin Dzeko laid the ball into the box, and Sultan Al-Brake deflected the delivery unluckily into his own net. The 2:0 in the 34th minute was officially credited as an own goal by the Qatari defender, although some sources also attribute the incident to goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada.

Qatar, who were without the suspended Assim Madibo and are managed by Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, hit back immediately before the break, however. Edmilson Junior delivered a cross from the right, laid it off inside the box, and captain Hassan Alhaydos reduced the deficit from close range to 1:2 (42'). That sent the side – which had already taken part in a World Cup as hosts back in 2022 – into the dressing room with a narrow deficit.

Alhaydos pulls one back shortly before the break

Just before the halftime whistle, Pedro Miguel nearly even equalized, but the Portugal-born player struck only the post in first-half stoppage time. At the other end, Edin Dzeko, making his 150th international appearance, also missed the chance to make it three when he hit only the woodwork from the edge of the box (38'). Bosnia failed to register another shot on goal well into the second half, but increasingly controlled proceedings.

Qatar tried to find their way back into the game after the restart, but the best opportunity fell to Akram Afif, whose shot in the 57th minute clipped the outside of the net. Shortly afterwards, in the 63rd minute, Barbarez took off the 40-year-old Dzeko and brought on 21-year-old Ermin Mahmic, who had only opted to play for Bosnia rather than Austria this year and is under contract with Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic.

Mahmic puts the cherry on top

The decisive moment came in the 80th minute: after a corner, Qatar failed to clear the ball, substitute Mahmic was perfectly positioned at the penalty spot and struck from around eleven meters, with a slight deflection, to make it 3:1. For Mahmic, it was his second World Cup goal in only his fourth international, having previously scored against Switzerland. That sealed a first win after seven matches without one.

With the victory, Bosnia climbed to third place in the final Group B standings with four points. A win by at least four goals would have already secured their place in the round of 32, but even as it stands, those in charge assume that the four points they have now accrued will almost certainly be enough to progress as one of the eight best third-placed teams. The knockout stage is not yet mathematically certain, though, with a final decision to be made no later than Sunday evening.

Switzerland top the group

In the parallel fixture, Switzerland secured first place in the group with a 2:1 win over hosts Canada in Vancouver. Rubén Vargas in the 46th minute and 20-year-old Johan Manzambi of SC Freiburg in the 57th minute scored for the Swiss, who were able to celebrate in Thomas Müller's home stadium in front of 52,497 spectators. Promise David netted only a consolation goal for Canada in the 76th minute. As a result, despite being hosts, Canada must play all of their remaining matches in the United States.

For Qatar, the defeat means elimination from the tournament. The side around captain Alhaydos have now gone nine matches without a win and have failed to register a single victory at a World Cup in six attempts. Across their two previous World Cup appearances, the Qataris have therefore come away empty-handed. Lopetegui acknowledged after the match that individual errors were the main reason for the defeat, while also praising the character of his players.

German youth talent Kerim Alajbegovic was overwhelmed after the final whistle: „Ich bin sprachlos, ich möchte jedem für den Support hier und zu Hause danken. Wir machen weiter." The birthday gift from the Cologne-born attacker is likely to have been well received by the Bosnian fans, who had filled the stadium in Seattle in blue, yellow and white shirts from the early hours of the morning.

Coach Sergej Barbarez gave a measured assessment of the win. They had arrived as complete outsiders, but had achieved something great, was his verdict after the first World Cup victory. Looking at the age gap between the 40-year-old Dzeko and the 18-year-old Alajbegovic, as well as the goal from super-sub Mahmic, Barbarez stressed that they had many young players who were only just getting started: „Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass sie erst begonnen haben und die nächste WM ihre wahre WM wird."

A historic chance for the "Dragons"

The Bosnian national team, known internally as the "Zmajevi" (Dragons), are appearing at a World Cup for only the second time, after 2014. Reaching the knockout round would be a historic achievement and the first time the country has ever progressed to the final phase of a World Cup. In the starting lineup was another Austrian-based player, Arjan Malic of SK Sturm Graz, who was making his first World Cup appearance.

Referee Valenzuela from Venezuela officiated a fair contest in which only two yellow cards were shown: Mahmic for the Bosnians and Fathy for Qatar received the bookings. There was one longer stoppage when, from the Bosnian side, goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj and Nikola Katic collided around the hour mark, before the players went off for a drinks break.

Looking ahead to the round of 16

All in all, Bosnia have a regulation win to close out the group stage. Following the 1:1 draw with Canada and the 1:4 defeat to Switzerland, the "Zmajevi" were able to celebrate for the first time at this tournament, and the likelihood is that there will be more to celebrate in the coming days.

If progression is mathematically confirmed, the "Dragons" will face a group winner from one of the later-played groups in the round of 16. Until then, the ball rests for Sergej Barbarez's side, who must wait on the remaining results in the days ahead.