Bosnia & Herzegovina v Qatar: World Cup 2026 prediction, lineups & tips
Bosnia and Herzegovina host Qatar at Lumen Field in Seattle on Wednesday in a winner-takes-all Group B finale at the FIFA World Cup 2026. Both sides sit on one point and face elimination with a draw or defeat.
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Edin Džeko's last realistic chance to make his mark at a FIFA World Cup 2026 arrives on Wednesday night at Lumen Field, Seattle. Bosnia and Herzegovina must win their Group B finale against Qatar or go home, and a quarter of a century of international football comes down to 90 minutes in the Pacific Northwest.
Bosnia & Herzegovina
QatarBosnia sit third in Group B on one point after drawing 1-1 with Canada and losing 4-1 to Switzerland. The Swiss result flattered the scoreline: Sergej Barbarez's side were resolute for more than 70 minutes before the game collapsed, Swiss substitutes Johan Manzambi and Ruben Vargas tore them apart late on, and centre-back Tarik Muharemovic picked up a red card that leaves Bosnia short at the back for this match. The consolation from the group so far is that Canada and Switzerland both sit on four points and play each other simultaneously, leaving the back door open for whichever of Bosnia or Qatar can claim three points.
Qatar's road to Seattle has been even more turbulent. Julen Lopetegui's side earned the AFC's first-ever World Cup point in fine fashion, a stoppage-time equaliser from Boualem Khoukhi snatched a 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Matchday 1. It looked like the start of something. Then came Vancouver: a 6-0 dismantling by Canada, two red cards, defender Homam Ahmed in the 31st minute, midfielder Assim Madibo in the 53rd, and the heaviest defeat in Qatari World Cup history. Lopetegui said after the Canada game: "There is no room for error in this match; it is the last match for us and for them." He was talking about Bosnia. He was right.
Bosnia's form across this World Cup cycle shows two goals scored and five conceded in two fixtures, with an average xG of just 0.59 per game. Qatar are even more threadbare offensively: 0.5 goals per game on average, an xG of 0.41, and just 1.5 shots on target per match. Neither side has kept a clean sheet in this tournament. What separates them is squad quality and the sheer depth of Qatar's disciplinary crisis. With Ahmed and Madibo suspended, Lopetegui must rebuild his defensive and midfield structure from scratch. Bosnia, despite losing Muharemovic, have the deeper pool of European club players to draw on, and Džeko and Ermedin Demirovic remain a physically and technically superior forward partnership to anything Qatar can put out.
Bosnia & HerzegovinaQatar
Line-ups
Bosnia & Herzegovina4-4-2- 1GNikola Vasilj
- 24DArjan Malić
- 18DNikola Katić
- 21DStjepan Radeljić
- 5DSead Kolašinac
- 20MEsmir Bajraktarević
- 14MIvan Šunjić
- 13MIvan Bašić
- 19MKerim Alajbegović
- 10FErmedin Demirović
- 11FEdin Džeko
Qatar4-3-3- 1GMahmud Abunada
- 2DPedro Miguel
- 16DBoualem Khoukhi
- 4DIssa Laye
- 18DSultan Al-Brake
- 5MJassem Gaber Abdulsallam
- 20MAhmed Fathi
- 12MKarim Boudiaf
- 10FHassan Al Haydos
- 11FAkram Afif
- 8FEdmilson Junior
Where to watch Bosnia & Herzegovina v Qatar: TV and online streams
Bosnia & Herzegovina v Qatar kicks off at 20:00 BST on Wednesday, 24 June at Lumen Field, Seattle. The match is available live in the UK on ITV4, with streaming via ITVX. US viewers can watch on Fox Sports.
Stats for Bosnia & Herzegovina v Qatar
- Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar have never previously met in a competitive senior international match, Wednesday is the first World Cup meeting between the two sides.
- Qatar conceded 7 goals across their two World Cup 2026 fixtures, averaging 3.5 against per game, with an xG against of 3.9 per match.
- Bosnia average just 38.5% possession in this tournament and 3.5 corners per game, against Qatar's 14.5 corners conceded per game, set pieces are a Bosnia weapon.
- Qatar scored just 1 goal in 2 World Cup games (0.5 avg) and managed only 1.5 shots on target per match; in their 6-0 loss to Canada they had zero shots on target across 90 minutes.
Match Result: Bosnia & Herzegovina to win
Bosnia are the better team, have the better players, and face a Qatar side missing two starters through suspension and carrying minus-six goal difference and a badly shaken dressing room. Qatar have never won a competitive World Cup match, and their output in this tournament, 0.41 xG per game, zero shots on target against Canada, offers nothing to contradict that record. Bosnia will be direct and physical, using Džeko's hold-up play and the set-piece threat from Alajbegovic and Tahirovic to break Qatar down. A narrow Bosnia win is the most likely outcome, even if they do not produce convincing football.