Teenage screamer and Džeko magic: Bosnia beat Qatar 3-1 to stay alive as the Qataris go out

Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Qatar 3-1 in Seattle to finish third in Group B on four points and keep their World Cup alive, an 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegović screamer lighting the way, while Qatar were eliminated without a win.

Bosnia and Herzegovina finished their group on a high and kept their World Cup alive. A 3-1 win over Qatar at Seattle Stadium lifted them to third in Group B on four points, in a strong position to go through as one of the best third-placed teams, and sent Qatar home without a win.

The night belonged to a teenager. On twenty-nine minutes Kerim Alajbegović, all of eighteen years old, picked the ball up twenty yards out and arrowed it into the top corner, a stunning strike to put Bosnia ahead and announce himself to the world.

Five minutes later it was two, and an old head made it. Sead Kolašinac swung in a cross, Edin Džeko met it with a volley, and the ball cannoned in off Qatar defender Sultan Al-Brake for an own goal. At 40, Džeko is still making things happen.

Qatar hit back before the break. On forty-two minutes captain Hassan Al-Haydos tapped in a cross from Edmilson Junior to make it 2-1 and give his side a sliver of hope.

The hope did not last. On eighty minutes substitute Ermin Mahmić pounced on a rebound inside the box to restore the two-goal cushion, his second goal of this World Cup off the bench, and settle it at 3-1.

Bosnia had the better of the game throughout, fifteen shots to nine and the bulk of the clear chances. They were sharper and more clinical, and full value for the three points that keep their tournament breathing.

It caps a strange group for Bosnia, who were thumped by Switzerland but did enough elsewhere to finish third on four points, and must now wait to learn if it is enough to sneak into the last 32. For Qatar it is the end, eliminated without a win after their loss to Switzerland and a chastening tournament for the 2022 hosts.

For Kenya, this was a tale of two ages. An eighteen-year-old scoring a screamer and a forty-year-old in Džeko still pulling the strings, two generations in the same shirt. Vijana na wazee, wote wakileta moto: the young and the old, both bringing the fire. There is plenty to admire in a small nation that keeps producing talent, and the neutrals watching from Nairobi enjoyed the show. Our Europe round-one verdict noted the continent's depth, and Bosnia just rode it into contention.