Alajbegovic comes of age to show Bosnia's bright future in uncertain World Cup

[p]At just 18 years and 276 days, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alajbegovic-kerim/4WqOzLUF/"]Kerim Alajbegovic[/a] became Bosnia's youngest-ever World Cup scorer with a curling effort on his right foot from the edge of the box in the 29th minute and the eighth youngest in history overall.[/p][p]His stunning strike gave the Balkan side a much-needed boost in front of a partisan crowd as they overcame [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/qatar/zqzHL77i/"]Qatar[/a] 3-1 to all but qualify for the round of 32. They will now have to wait to see if their record is good enough to progress.[/p][p]With that wait now on their minds, Alajbegovic proves that there is plenty of talent left in the Bosnia ranks once their talisman [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dzeko-edin/zilGmgZq/"]Dzeko[/a] hangs up his boots.[/p][p]The pair could not be further apart in their careers. At 40, Dzeko is the oldest player in their squad and 22 years his teammates' senior.[/p][p]Dzeko won his 150th cap in the victory over Qatar, whereas the teenager was picking up his seventh. [/p][p]But, despite the distances between them, it was the 18-year-old who stood out in the Seattle heat.[/p][p]Quick on the turn, strong in the tackle, his physicality belied his age. His confidence was the most eye-catching quality of his performance, and his goal showed that in abundance.[/p][p]Cutting in across the edge of the box from the left, he darted past three Qatar defenders before rifling the effort home. The power and precision of the strike gave goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada no chance.[/p][image alt="Kerim Alajbegovic's goal against Qatar" id="bee3fd74-bb5d-49f0-8fee-cb401d6a249c" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform / Carlos Barria / Reuters" guid="d355b7b4-8751-4601-97d2-09fbaac183da" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The winger, currently with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/salzburg/Olvehxrl/"]RB Salzburg[/a], completed six of his nine dribbles to show off his skill, whilst winning the majority of his duels too.[/p][p]His current transfer value sits at 22.2 million euros, expect that to rise after the World Cup.[/p][p]His goalkeeper, Nikola Vasilj, was full of praise for him when he spoke in the mixed zone.[/p][p][b]Speaking about the goal, he said: "It was a big moment for us, to take the lead in this game was really important.[/b][/p][p][b]"I'm really happy for him. At that age, to be able to play in such a big game and he is showing that he can score goals week in, week out - I am really happy that we have him.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's still a long way for him I think and he can still develop a lot, so I just hope that he continues that way."[/b][/p][p]After the game, Alajbegovic was named player of the match, and he described in Bosnian that this was the best goal of his career. If he can continue his rise, that statement may not last long.[/p][embed guid="c4992581-1f2e-4793-8399-7faa32d222b6" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2069896456085926219" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bosnia-herzegovina-fqe7WYTr/qatar-zqzHL77i/?mid=jRyHEZGP"]Read the match report from the game with Flashscore.[/a][/p][infobox id="79bb87c6-d26e-46c2-b1ec-7eec56479c0a" /]