Bosnia end Qatar’s World Cup dream, all but seal knockout berth

Bosnia beat Qatar 3-1 to stay in the race for the World Cup knockout stage.

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SEATTLE: Bosnia and Herzegovina kept their World Cup hopes alive thanks to a stunning goal from teenager Kerim Alajbegovic which powered them towards a tense 3-1 win over Qatar on Wednesday (Jun 24) and secured third place in Group B to eliminate their opponents.

The 18-year-old Alajbegovic broke the deadlock in the 29th minute, dancing past two tackles and firing an unstoppable shot past Mahmoud Abunada from the edge of the box, sending the thousands of Bosnian fans in the stadium wild. 

Bosnia scored again five minutes later when a cross from captain Edin Dzeko, on his 150th international appearance, bounced off a defender and spun into the net, at which point the result looked like a formality. Dzeko then rattled the post to spurn a chance to put the game to bed, before Hassan Al-Haydos halved the deficit to give Qatar hope three minutes before the break.

Qatar pushed for an equaliser but never really threatened before Bosnia substitute Ermin Mahmic scored 10 minutes from time to secure the win that put his side on four points and in a good position to qualify as one of eight third-placed teams. 

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"We came here as complete underdogs and we are trying to do something major," said coach Sergej Barbarez, who entered his post-match press conference to applause from Bosnian journalists. "This was a perfect match."

The Qataris finished bottom, though with their first World Cup point on their second tournament appearance, having also exited at the group stage in the 2022 finals which they hosted. Their coach Julen Lopetegui was left to curse his side's luck, but took heart from Qatar's achievement after they reached the tournament through qualification for the first time. 

"I think we did many, many things well but football does not pay us back today," he said. "We deserved more." 

"You don't know when you will have other possibilities in your life to be in the World Cup," he added. 

"Let's see, we hope it is not the last match."

BOSNIA ON COURSE FOR LAST-32

Bosnia started with purpose and pressed high up the pitch early, drawing two saves from Abunada inside three minutes, but were grateful for Ivan Sunjic's last-ditch challenge to deny Akram Afif as Qatar threatened on the counter.

The teams then settled into a cautious chess match in unseasonably high temperatures until the hydration break sparked the contest into life. Alajbegovic, who scored the winning penalty in Bosnia's playoff semi-final against Wales, opened the scoring with a piece of individual brilliance before Dzeko forced an own goal.

The 40-year-old striker could have made it 3-0, firing against the woodwork as Qatar were struggling to stay in the game.

But Qatar captain Al-Haydos tapped home from close range just before the break, with Pedro Miguel hitting the post in added time as they pushed for a first-half equaliser.

The second period was nervy as Bosnia sat deep while Qatar applied pressure but failed to create chances, despite the introduction of their record goalscorer Almoez Ali.

Mahmic settled the contest, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and firing past Abunada to set up a potential last-32 clash with the United States on Jul 1.

Bosnia's players celebrated with their fans after the final whistle, singing their unofficial anthem "U.S.A." with their supporters' party looking likely to last well into the night. 

Having seen Alajbegovic and Mahmic score key goals, Barbarez was looking far into the future. 

"We have a lot of young players and I truly do believe that this national team has just begun and the next World Cup will be their true, own World Cup," he said.

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