Bosnia Herzegovina and Qatar meet at Lumen Field in Seattle on 24 June 2026 with both sides on one point from two games, Qatar's goal difference the worse of the two. Canada and Switzerland are ahead on four points each, meaning the loser here is effectively eliminated and even the winner needs favours from elsewhere. It is a dead rubber that is not quite a dead rubber.
Sergej Barbarez is still finding his feet in management but has done more than most expected. The former Bosnia captain, capped 47 times with 17 international goals, guided his country through qualifying and into the tournament via playoff wins over Wales and Italy on penalties, not a bad first year in the job. Julen Lopetegui, who has managed Spain, Real Madrid, Wolves and West Ham, took charge of Qatar in 2025 on a contract through 2027, making this his first World Cup as a head coach and the two have no previous head to head record in the dugout.
Bosnia came into this tournament unbeaten in nine but their World Cup has gone sideways, with a 1-1 draw against Canada followed by a 1-4 thumping from Switzerland. Qatar have had it worse, losing 6-0 to Canada and looking well short at this level despite Lopetegui's work since taking over.
Dzeko is 40 and recovering from a shoulder injury picked up in March, so Barbarez is likely to manage his minutes rather than start him for 90. Striker Haris Tabakovic is out with a broken ankle, Osman Hadzikic has been replaced in the squad by Mladen Jurkas and Nidal Celik makes way for Arjan Malic. Bosnia's 26 man squad features 16 players born abroad, with the typical setup built around Sead Kolasinac at the back and younger attackers like Ermedin Demirovic, Kerim Alajbegovic and Esmir Bajraktarevic further forward. Qatar's all time top scorer Almoez Ali, 60 goals in 126 caps, leads the line alongside captain Hassan Al-Haydos. Lopetegui has named a forward heavy squad with no reported pre match injuries, though Qatar have no natural replacement if Almoez Ali is off his game.
Barbarez sets Bosnia up pragmatically, organised and hard to beat, building counter attacks around Demirovic and Bajraktarevic in behind. Bosnia are dangerous at set pieces, particularly with Kolasinac and Dzeko in the box when they get the chance. Lopetegui will ask Qatar to defend deeper and more organised than they did against Canada and look to transition quickly on the break but the 6-0 showed how badly things can come apart once gaps open up. The key battles are probably Dzeko and Demirovic against Qatar's central defenders and whether Bosnia's midfield can disrupt whatever Lopetegui is trying to build.
Their only previous meetings were friendlies: Qatar won 2-0 in January 2000 and Bosnia drew 1-1 in August 2010, so this is their first competitive encounter. Bosnia's set piece threat could be the difference if Qatar's defensive shape has any cracks and having already conceded six against Canada, that looks a reasonable assumption. A win would leave Bosnia on four points and alive in the race to progress as one of the better third placed sides, whereas Qatar's realistic aim at this point is probably just avoiding another heavy defeat.
Bosnia Herzegovina 2-1 Qatar. Demirovic and Bajraktarevic are operating at a higher club level than any of Qatar's forwards and Bosnia came into the tournament unbeaten in nine. Lopetegui will make Qatar harder to break down than they were against Canada but probably not hard enough.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
