MUNDIAL·26

First Stage · Group B · Wednesday, June 24 · Seattle Stadium, Seattle · 66,925 in the stands

kickoff 12:00 local · 26°C · 46% humidity

Bosnia and Herzegovina

29′ Kerim ALAJBEGOVIC (pen)

34′ (og)

80′ Ermin MAHMIC (pen)

3:1

Qatar

42′ HASSAN ALHAYDOS (pen)

tap a player for their match file

Bosnia and Herzegovina4-4-2
Qatar4-3-3
Nikola VASILJ6.4Sead KOLASINAC7.0Nikola KATIC6.6Stjepan RADELJIC6.6Arjan MALIC6.2Ivan BASIC7.5Ivan SUNJIC6.9Ermedin DEMIROVIC6.5Edin DZEKO6.5Kerim ALAJBEGOVIC7.9Esmir BAJRAKTAREVIC7.1MAHMOUD ABUNADA4.3PEDRO MIGUEL6.4ISSA LAYE6.7JASSEM GABER5.6BOUALEM KHOUKHI6.3SULTAN ALBRAKE6.4KARIM BOUDIAF6.5AHMED FATHY6.0EDMILSON JUNIOR7.3HASSAN ALHAYDOS7.2AKRAM AFIF6.8
from the bench

match pulse — xG per 5 minutes · goals · cards

45′90′BIHQAT

goals — hover the strip for every shot and card, with names

  • 29′Alajbegović0.06 xG
  • 34′Abunada0.03 xG
  • 42′Al-Haydos0.33 xG
  • 80′Mahmic0.05 xG
BIH 0:0 QAT0'kickoff
2' Demirović — xG 0.02 · Saved3' Šunjić — xG 0.03 · Saved17' Bašić — xG 0.03 · Missed18' Bašić — xG 0.02 · Blocked23' Alajbegović — xG 0.13 · Blocked29' Alajbegović — xG 0.06 · Goal33' Bašić — xG 0.04 · Blocked33' Katic — xG 0.07 · Missed34' Abunada — xG 0.00 · Goal38' Džeko — xG 0.11 · Post42' Al-Haydos — xG 0.33 · Goal45' Khoukhi — xG 0.02 · Missed45 + 3' Pedro — xG 0.17 · Post45 + 3' Pedro — xG 0.04 · Missed57' Afif — xG 0.07 · Missed60' Afif — xG 0.03 · Missed76' Bajraktarević — xG 0.01 · Missed79' Bajraktarević — xG 0.04 · Saved80' Bašić — xG 0.02 · Blocked80' Radeljić — xG 0.02 · Blocked80' Mahmic — xG 0.05 · Goal86' Al Ganehi — xG 0.04 · Missed90 + 4' Pedro — xG 0.01 · Saved90 + 4' Ali — xG 0.07 · Saved

▶ Watch every shot in 3D⟲ Replay the match

The xG race — cumulative expected goals, minute by minute

BIH 0:0 QAT
0.50′15′30′45′60′75′90′29' Alajbegović — GOAL34' Abunada — GOAL42' Al-Haydos — GOAL80' Mahmic — GOAL0.650.78

On paper vs as played — formation sheet vs heatmap reality

BIH 4-4-2 attack →, ← QAT 4-3-3 attack. The teamsheet, as announced.

1Nikola VASILJNikola VASILJ5Sead KOLASINACSead KOLASINAC18Nikola KATICNikola KATIC21Stjepan RADELJICStjepan RADELJIC24Arjan MALICArjan MALIC13Ivan BASICIvan BASIC14Ivan SUNJICIvan SUNJIC10Ermedin DEMIROVICErmedin DEMIROVIC11Edin DZEKOEdin DZEKO19Kerim ALAJBEGOVICKerim ALAJBEGOVIC20Esmir BAJRAKTAREVICEsmir BAJRAKTAREVIC1MAHMOUD ABUNADAMAHMOUD ABUNADA2PEDRO MIGUELPEDRO MIGUEL4ISSA LAYEISSA LAYE5JASSEM GABERJASSEM GABER16BOUALEM KHOUKHIBOUALEM KHOUKHI18SULTAN ALBRAKESULTAN ALBRAKE12KARIM BOUDIAFKARIM BOUDIAF20AHMED FATHYAHMED FATHY8EDMILSON JUNIOREDMILSON JUNIOR10HASSAN ALHAYDOSHASSAN ALHAYDOS11AKRAM AFIFAKRAM AFIF

The duel — team data, FIFA tracking included

49%
Possession
43%
0.77
Expected goals
1.17
56
Threat
44
14
Shots
9
5
On target
3
461
Passes completed
388
43
Forced turnovers
42
14.6s
Ball recovery time
21.1s
6.69
High-press phases
5.34
14
Fouls committed
8
1
Offsides
3
114 km
Distance covered
110 km
34.4 km/h
Top speed
33.4 km/h

Territory — where each team lived

Every player's heatmap, minutes-weighted and stacked per team. Bosnia and Herzegovina attack →, ← Qatar attack. Brighter is more presence; where the colors meet is the contested ground.

How it happened

  1. 29′Kerim ALAJBEGOVIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) scores!!
  2. 34′MAHMOUD ABUNADA (Qatar) scores an own goal.
  3. 42′HASSAN ALHAYDOS (Qatar) scores!!
  4. ′Before the second half begins Amar MEMIC (in) comes off the bench to replace Arjan MALIC (out) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  5. ′Before the second half begins Benjamin TAHIROVIC (in) comes off the bench to replace Ivan SUNJIC (out) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  6. ′Before the second half begins ABDULAZIZ HATEM (in) comes off the bench to replace JASSEM GABER (out) (Qatar)
  7. 55′AHMED ALGANEHI (in) comes off the bench to replace HASSAN ALHAYDOS (out) (Qatar)
  8. 63′Dennis HADZIKADUNIC (in) comes off the bench to replace Nikola KATIC (out) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  9. 63′Ermin MAHMIC (in) comes off the bench to replace Edin DZEKO (out) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  10. 72′ALMOEZ ALI (in) comes off the bench to replace KARIM BOUDIAF (out) (Qatar)
  11. 78′AHMED FATHY (Qatar) is booked by the referee.
  12. 79′MOHAMED MANAI (in) comes off the bench to replace AHMED FATHY (out) (Qatar)
  13. 79′AHMED ALAAELDIN (in) comes off the bench to replace EDMILSON JUNIOR (out) (Qatar)
  14. 80′Ermin MAHMIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) scores!!
  15. 82′Dzenis BURNIC (in) comes off the bench to replace Kerim ALAJBEGOVIC (out) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  16. 82′Ermin MAHMIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) is booked by the referee.

The morning-after column · AI-written from the match data

Bosnia's press breaks Qatar's nerve in Seattle slugfest

Bosnia controlled the game without controlling possession. At 49-43%, the margin seemed academic until you watched how they used it: six high-press phases to Qatar's five, forcing turnovers at will, and crucially, forcing Qatar's ball recovery time to balloon to 21.1 seconds. By the 80th minute, Qatar's defence was corroded. Kerim Alajbegovic and Ermin Mahmic orchestrated a suffocating display, and the goals—two scored on just 0.06 and 0.05 xG—came from a team executing a relentless game plan.

Qatar's 1.17 xG suggested they should have won comfortably. Edmilson Junior and Hasan Al-Haydos pressed hard, but Akram Afif's contribution (6.8 rating) faded as Bosnia's midfield strangled them. The warning came in stoppage time when a big chance hit the post, a last-gasp reminder that a tighter match existed. Instead, two low-probability finishes from Bosnia and Qatar's inability to breathe under pressure left them chasing ghosts. Possession means nothing when you're too rushed to use it.

Qatar finished with 1.17 xG and lost 3-1 to a team that scored on 0.11 xG combined, a stark lesson in how pressing breaks the precision that possession demands.

80′

Bosnia's third goal: the press had finally broken Qatar's back.

What Bosnia and Herzegovina needed

Suffocation won it. Keep pressing teams into mistakes.

  • High-press phases (6.7) forced Qatar's ball recovery to 21.1s—desperation, not control.
  • Two goals on 0.11 combined xG proved ruthless efficiency beats xG. Convert margins matter.
  • Survived Qatar's xG advantage (1.17 to 0.77) by making them too rushed to finish cleanly.

What Qatar needed

Pressure destroyed the build-up. Better finishing alone won't fix the pace problem.

  • Ball recovery at 21.1s vs Bosnia's 14.6s: Bosnia's press was too tight, too organised.
  • Wasted the xG edge (1.17 vs 0.77) and the post shot (45+3') on a team that converted low-probability chances.
  • Akram Afif (6.8 rating) faded as midfield congestion grew—no time to influence play under constant harassment.