Bosnia & Herzegovina beat Qatar to keep World Cup hopes alive

Bosnia & Herzegovina kept their World Cup campaign on track with a controlled 3-1 victory over Qatar in Match Round 3, combining sharp attacking play with disciplined defending to move into contention for the knockout stages.

• Bosnia & Herzegovina will play with . , on .
• Qatar will play with . , on .

Bosnia & Herzegovina

• Nikola Vasilj (6.9)
• Arjan Malic (6.3)
• Nikola Katić (6.9)
• Stjepan Radeljić (7)
• Sead Kolašinac (6.9)
• E. Bajraktarevic (6.6)
• Ivan Bašić (7.9)
• Ivan Šunjić (6.9)
• K. Alajbegovic (8)
• Ermedin Demirović (6.3)
• Edin Džeko (6.7)

Qatar

Substitutions:

Bosnia & Herzegovina

• Arjan Malic (Amar Memić, 46)
• Ivan Šunjić (Benjamin Tahirović, 46)
• Nikola Katić (Dennis Hadžikadunić, 63)
• Edin Džeko (Ermin Mahmić, 64)
• K. Alajbegovic (Dženis Burnić, 82)

Qatar

• Jassem Gaber Abdulsallam (Abdulaziz Hatem Mohammed Abdullah, 46)
• Hassan Khalid Hassan Al Haydos (Ahmed Mohammed Al Ganehi, 56)
• Karim Boudiaf (Almoez Ali Zainalabedeen Moham Abdulla, 72)
• Ahmed Fathi Abdoun (Mohamed Naceur Al Manai, 79)
• Edmilson Junior Paulo da Silva (Ahmed Alaaeldin Abdelmotaal, 79)

Ball possession:

Edin Bajraktarević was the focal point of Bosnia & Herzegovina’s attacking threat, spearheading a front line that consistently asked questions of Qatar’s defence as the European side made their superior balance of possession, pressing and physicality count.

Passes:

Qatar, who saw Pedro Miguel Carvalho Deus Correia impress as their main attacking outlet, produced moments of quality on the break and briefly threatened a comeback, but they were ultimately outmanoeuvred by a Bosnia & Herzegovina side that controlled key areas of the pitch and the decisive moments in both boxes.

Defense:

### Bosnia & Herzegovina edge the battle for control

Face-to-face:

Bosnia & Herzegovina enjoyed the greater share of the ball, with 55% possession to Qatar’s 45%, and used it to dictate the tempo for long spells. Their territorial dominance translated into more consistent pressure and a higher volume of shooting opportunities.

Fouls:

Yellow cards:

• Ermin Mahmić (Bosnia & Herzegovina) at 82 minute
• Ahmed Fathi Abdoun (Qatar) at 78 minute

The last five games (including this match):

• Bosnia & Herzegovina –
• Qatar –

Top 5 World Cup scorers:

1. Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (2, )
2. Gessime Yassine (1, )
3. Ismael Saibari Ben El Basra (1, )
4. K. Alajbegovic (1, )
5. Hassan Khalid Hassan Al Haydos (1, )

Line-ups:

Next games:

• Bosnia & Herzegovina will play with . , on .
• Qatar will play with . , on .