The Qatar national team went home with a head held high after being eliminated

The Qatar national team went home with a head held high after being eliminated and became the key player in Group B at the 2026 World Cup.

The Maroons’ journey finally officially ended on the North American Continent.

Playing the final match of Group B against Bosnia & Herzegovina at Seattle Stadium, Thursday (25/6/2026) early morning WIB, Qatar lost 1-3.

Bosnia’s winning goals were scored by Kerim Alajbegovic (29th minute), Sultan Al Brake (34′), and Ermin Mahmic (80′).

Meanwhile, the Qatar national team could only reply via Hassan Al Haydos (42′).

This result brought Smajevi to close the group phase at the 2026 World Cup by occupying third place in the final Group B standings.

The match against Bosnia & Herzegovina was a real life-or-death match for Qatar, as a win could have vaulted them into third place.

That chance still existed, given Qatar’s 1-1 draw against Switzerland, which earned them a point despite being thrashed 6-0 by hosts Canada later.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck was still not on Julen Lopetegui’s side.

Qatar was eliminated from the 2026 World Cup and finished bottom of Group B.

Despite their utter failure at the 2026 World Cup, Qatar national team coach Julen Lopetegui did not give up hope.

In fact, he was proud of his players, who had already played at the highest level, the World Cup.

The failure in North America did not deter Qatar, but rather left with their heads held high.

“The big difference today is that they scored more goals than us,” said Lopetegui, as quoted by TMW.

The acquisition of 4 points obtained by Sergej Barbarez’s troops was enough to lead them to qualify for the round of 32.

Unlike Qatar, the host of the 2022 edition had to bury their dream of advancing to the knockout phase.