Bosnia and Herzegovina, with goals by Kerim Alajbegovic, Ermin Mahmic, and an own goal by Sultan Al-Brake, defeated Qatar on Wednesday. Qatar narrowed the gap with a goal by Hassan Alhaydos but was eliminated, and is now hoping to advance to the round of 32 as one of the best third-place teams in the 2026 World Cup.
Bosnia and Qatar went into the final matchday of the group stage with an urgent need to win, having earned just one point in two games, and with their eyes also on Vancouver, where Canada and Switzerland faced off in a match that ended in a victory for the Swiss team.
They strike first
The Balkan team got off to a better start, creating two scoring chances in the first three minutes.
Mahmud Abunada successfully saved both shots, one by Ermedin Remirovic and the other by Ivan Basic.
Qatar, led by Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, had a hard time finding its rhythm in the game.
This was partly due to the lack of intensity they showed in the first hour, which was reflected in Bosnia’s first goal, scored by Kerim Alajbegovic.
He broke free from several defenders before taking a shot that sailed into the left corner of Abunada’s goal.
With barely any time to process it, Bosnia conceded a second goal.
Alajbegovic sent in a cross from the left wing that deflected off Sultan Albrake, who accidentally put the ball into his own net (Filed under: Bosnia Eliminates Qatar).
They are holding their ground against Qatar’s response
Nine minutes later, Bosnia had a chance to seal the victory when Demirovic hit the post, prompting the Qatari team to respond.
In the short time remaining before halftime, they narrowed the gap thanks to their captain, Hassan Alhaydos, and nearly tied the game in stoppage time when Pedro Miguel hit the post.
In the second half, the game became more evenly matched, and neither team was able to impose its style of play.
As a result, both Sergej Barbarez and Lopetegui made quite a few substitutions in search of a breath of fresh air and new ideas.
Bosnia benefited the most from those changes, as Ermin Mahmic sealed the victory for his team by capitalizing on a loose ball.
This came during a somewhat convoluted play in Qatar’s penalty area that ended with a shot that Abunada touched before it found the back of the net (Filed under: Bosnia Knocks Out Qatar).
Bosnia dreams of advancing to the round of 32
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Qatar fought until the very end
Right up until the end, Qatar refused to accept defeat and tried to take risks with their game plan.
Although they posed little threat to Vasilj’s goal, except for the occasional long-range shot.
With this result, and Switzerland’s 2-1 victory over Canada, the Swiss team leads Group B with seven points, while the Canadian team is in second place with four.
Bosnia is in third place in Group B, also with four points, and still has a chance to be one of the eight teams to advance to the next round as one of the best third-place finishers.
Qatar, with just one point, finishes last and is eliminated (Filed under: Bosnia Eliminates Qatar).
Technical Specifications
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3 – Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vasilj; Malic (Tahirovic, 46′), Radeljic, Katic (Hadzikadunic, 62′), Kolasinac; Basic, Sunjic (Memic, 46′); Alajbegovic (Burnic, 82′), Demirovic, Dzeko (Mahmic, 62′), and Bajraktarevic.
1 – Qatar: Mahmoud Abunada; Pedro Miguel, Issa Laye, Gaber (Hatem, 46′), Khoukhi, Albrake; Boudiaf (Almoez Ali, 72′), Fathy (Manai, 79′); Edmilson Junior (Alaaeldin, 79′), Alhaydos (Al Ganehi, 55′), and Afif.
Goals: 1-0: 29′ Alajbegovic; 2-0: 34′ Al-Brake (own goal); 2-1: 42′ Alhaydos; 3-1: 79′ Mahmic.
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela). He issued yellow cards to Mahmic (82′) of Bosnia and Fathy (76′) of Qatar.
Match details: Match from the third and final matchday of the Group B group stage, played at Seattle Stadium (Filed under: Bosnia eliminates Qatar).
With information from EFE
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