PanamavsCroatia

Result

Croatia recovered from their opening defeat with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto to keep their campaign alive. Substitute Ante Budimir, on at half-time for Petar Musa, settled it on 54 minutes with a close-range volley, and Zlatko Dalić's side — Luka Modrić marshalling the midfield before making way late for his 200th cap milestone — controlled the ball and saw the game out. Panama, limited to a single shot on target despite a committed display in front of a partisan crowd, slip to the brink of elimination and need a final-day result to keep their hopes alive.

Panama 5-4-14-2-3-1 Croatia

Panama

Croatia

Ante Budimir54'

Yoel Bárcenas61'

Petar Sučić90'+2'

42%Possession58%

8Shots6

1On target2

1Saves1

7Corners2

277Passes completed432

79%Pass accuracy84%

10Tackles19

19Touches in box15

Substitutions

Cecilio Watermanfor Jiovany Ramosat 77'

Ante Budimirfor Petar Musaat 45'

Azarias Londoñofor José Fajardoat 83'

Andrej Kramarićfor Joško Gvardiolat 45'

Éric Davisfor César Blackmanat 90'

Luka Sučićfor Marco Pašalićat 72'

Tomás Rodríguezfor Yoel Bárcenasat 90'

Petar Sučićfor Mateo Kovačićat 72'

Mario Pašalićfor Luka Modrićat 81'

At this Stage

Group L tightened into a three-team race on matchday 2. England's goalless draw with Ghana left the top pair locked on four points apiece, split only by goal difference, and opened a door Croatia stepped through: Ante Budimir's volley settled a 1-0 over Panama that lifts Zlatko Dalić's side to three points, one off the lead, the 4-2 opening loss to England now half-repaired. Panama's tournament hangs by its last thread — two defeats by a single goal each, no points, and a final matchday needing both a win and kindness from other results. Every campaign in the group except Panama's still controls its own arithmetic, and every question except the bottom one remains open. For a group that began with a six-goal thriller, Group L has learned to win small — matchday three will pay out accordingly.

Group L

Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
England	2	1	1	0	+2	4
Ghana	2	1	1	0	+1	4
Croatia	2	1	0	1	-1	3
Panama	2	0	0	2	-2	0

Top two (above the accent line) advance to the round of 32; the third-placed team is in the race for one of the eight best-third spots.

What we know now

What I said beforehand

The preview, frozen at kickoff. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the predictions worth anything.

Croatia to win. Both sides lost their openers — Panama undone by Caleb Yirenkyi's stoppage-time winner for Ghana, Croatia beaten 4-2 by England after twice levelling — so this is effectively a knockout, and the side with far more pedigree should respond. Luka Modrić still runs the Croatian midfield, with Petar Musa a focal point up top. Panama are well-drilled and enjoy possession through Adalberto Carrasquilla, and their fans will roar them on in Toronto, but Croatia's quality should edge it. 2-1 Croatia.

Both cases written 2026-06-22, before kickoff — they freeze into the record exactly as written, however the match goes. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — the unclaimed 25% belongs to the draw.