Bosnia-Herzegovina secured a 3-1 victory over Qatar in a Group B match on Wednesday, greatly improving their prospects of advancing to the Round of 32 at the World Cup. The win eliminates Qatar from the tournament, as they failed to register a victory in their group.

Kerim Alajbegovic opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a powerful 20-yard shot that bypassed Qatar goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada. At 18 years old, Alajbegovic became the eighth-youngest goal scorer in World Cup history. Shortly after, Bosnia-Herzegovina extended their lead when Sead Kolasinac delivered a cross that was volleyed by Edin Dzeko; the ball deflected off Qatar’s Sultan Al-Brake, resulting in an own goal in the 34th minute. Despite a goal from Qatar’s Hassan Al Haydos in the 42nd minute, Bosnia-Herzegovina restored a two-goal cushion in the 80th minute through Ermin Mahmic, who had also scored in a previous group match against Switzerland.

The Bosnian team, which finished third in Group B, is likely to advance among the eight best third-place teams across the 12 groups in the expanded tournament format. Should they progress, they are expected to face the United States in the knockout round. This advancement would mark Bosnia-Herzegovina’s first time reaching the knockout stage in the national team’s World Cup history, having previously only participated in the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Qatar’s match was overshadowed earlier by a disciplinary action against midfielder Assim Madibo, who received a five-match suspension for a tackle that broke Canada’s Ismaël Koné's leg during their previous encounter on June 18. Madibo had been issued a straight red card for the incident in Canada’s 6-0 win over Qatar.

In Group B action on the same day, Switzerland defeated Canada 2-1, allowing both teams to advance to the knockout stage. Rubén Vargas scored early in the second half for Switzerland, and Johan Manzambi added a second goal. Canada’s Promise David scored a late consolation goal. Switzerland secured first place in the group and will face a third-place finisher in the next round, while Canada, finishing second, will travel to California for their upcoming match.

Elsewhere in Group C, Morocco rallied from behind to beat Haiti 4-2, keeping the Caribbean nation from earning its first-ever World Cup point. Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine both scored off the bench to help Morocco overturn the deficit. Morocco advanced to the knockout phase in second place behind Group C leader Brazil, which defeated Scotland 3-0. Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior scored twice, continuing his streak of goals in each group match and helping the five-time champions secure a commanding group win.

These results set the stage for an intense knockout round as teams vie for the championship in the expanded World Cup format.