Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, inspired by Kerim Alajbegovic’s remarkable goal, grabbed 3 points, and more importantly, spared them from an early elimination from the World Cup by finishing 3rd in Group B from a 3-1 victory over Qatar.
The 29th minute saw the 18-year-old score from the edge of the penalty box after he weaved through and evaded two defenders, one of which was the custodian, to score in front of the thousands of Bosnian Fans.
It was Edin Dzeko’s 150th appearance, and he served in a celebration assist, although a defender would intervene and deflect the ball to the back of the net. Qatar bounced back but was on the back foot the entire match. They regained some balance after Hassan Al-Haydos scored in the 42nd minute. However, the match result was sealed for Bosnia in the 80th minute after a goal from Ermin Mahmic, bringing his team to a potential qualifying position of four points, and for Qatar, they finished bottom of the group but celebrated their first point in the World Cup after a second attempt, having previously finished bottom in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, which they hosted.
Bosnia started with intent and their pressing early on forced two early saves from Abunada in the first three minutes. Only a last-minute challenge from Sunjic on Afif saved Bosnia as Qatar’s counter-attack caused problems.
Both sides played cautiously and the first-half hydration break caused an unusual interruption and sparked the game into life.
Alajbegovic, the player who scored the match-winning penalty in Bosnia’s playoff against Wales, scored the first goal of the match, which was followed by an own goal from Qatar, which was forced by Dzeko.
Alajbegovic was close to scoring again after he hit the crossbar before Qatar had their best chance of the first half with a goal scored by their captain, Al Haydos, who scored an easy tap in after several good chances to draw the match before Pédro Miguel hit the crossbar.
In the last 45 minutes, Qatar failed to score despite the pressure and creation of goal scoring opportunities from substitute and top goal scorer Almoez Ali.
Mahmic finally put the match to rest after a loose ball in the box fell to him and he scored easily to seal the win and create a likely pairing in the round of 32 against the United States on the 1st of July.
