By Sam Tobin
SEATTLE, June 24 (Reuters) - 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 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.
The European side were well on top and Dzeko rattled the post 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 puts his side on four points and in a good position to qualify as one of eight third-placed teams.
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.
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 two teams then settled into a cautious chess match in unseasonably high temperatures until the hydration break in the first half 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 shortly after, firing against the woodwork as Qatar were reeling and 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 then settled the contest, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and firing past Abunada to confirm the win and set up a potential last-32 clash with the United States on July 1.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin and Ossian Shine, Editing by Ken Ferris)
