Bosnia-Herzegovina, which dominated Qatar 3-1 on Wednesday in Seattle in the last match of Group B of the 2026 World Cup, took a big step towards qualifying for the round of 16 as the best third.
Behind Switzerland (7 points) and Canada (4 points), both qualified, the Bosnians are, also with 4 points but a worse goal difference than the Canadians, well placed to be among the eight best third places.
Qatar, last in the group, is eliminated, after a draw against the Nati (1-1) and a correction against the Canucks (6-0).
After hanging on to Canada (1-1), Sergej Barbarez’s players experienced disillusionment against the Helvetii, beaten 4-1 after holding on to a draw for a long time.
Fallers of Italy in qualifying for the World Cup, the teammates of local legend Edin Dzeko generally dominated the match against the Qataris.
After a rather dull start to the match, Salzburg winger Kerim Alajbegovic opened the scoring with a powerful shot into the top corner from outside the area (29th).
After this first banderilla from the 18-year-old striker, his elder Dzeko, 40, indirectly found the net, upon receiving a long cross, his shot being deflected by Qatar defender Sultan Al-Brake (csc, 34th).
For his 150th selection, Dzeko almost tripled the lead a few minutes later, only the post saving goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada (39th).
Despite the reduction in the score by Bordeaux captain Hassan Al-Haydos (42nd), the Bosnians reacted in the second period with Ermin Mahmic (80th) to keep their knockout phase dreams intact.
