Teenager Kerim Alajbegovic’s stunning strike set Bosnia and Herzegovina on their way to a 3-1 Group B win over Qatar which leaves them on course to reach the knock-out phase of the World Cup for the first time in their history.
Alajbegovic fired Bosnia in front in the 29th minute and Salman Al-Brake’s own goal soon doubled the advantage. Assan Al-Haydos pulled one back before the break but substitute Ermin Mahmic struck to seal a victory which puts Bosnia in a strong position to advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
Bosnia made their intentions clear as Ermedin Demirovic and Ivan Sunjic tested Mahmud Abunada inside the opening three minutes before Alajbegovic put them ahead with one of the goals of the tournament so far.
The 18-year-old, cutting in from the left, beat two defenders before hitting a rising right-footed shot into the roof of Abunada’s net.
Five minutes later Bosnia led 2-0, albeit in less spectacular fashion, as Edin Dzeko’s attempted cross deflected off Al-Brake to beat Abunada.
Dzeko, making his 150th appearance for Bosnia, could have killed it moments later when he beat the offside trap only to see his strike come back off a post, and Qatar made the most of the let-off.
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Within four minutes they were back in it as a low cross found Edmilson Junior in all sorts of space and he squared the ball for Al-Haydos to prod in. They could have been level at the break as Pedro Miguel’s low strike hit a post in first-half stoppage time.
Both sides had good chances in the second half, with Akram Afif firing into the side-netting and Alajbegovic going close to a second, but with 12 minutes left Qatar failed to clear a corner and Mahmic pounced to score from close range, sparking huge celebrations and sending Qatar home.
Bosnia coach Sergei Barbarez said of Alajbegovic: “When you have such a young player, just 18 years of age, you see the possibilities he has and the skill. Perhaps it’s difficult to play them at the right time. He had to be patient and wait for his time.
“We are trying to do our best to free him from the pressure that will come, the pressure of expectation. We have a lot of young players and I truly believe this team has just begun. The next World Cup will be their World Cup.”
Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui said: “The key element is that they scored an incredible first goal and after we made two mistakes and they took advantage.
“This is football at the high level. After I think we did many, many things well but football does not pay us back today. We deserved more.”
