Full Time
Croatia beat Panama 1-0 in Toronto to keep their World Cup alive, Ante Budimir coming off the bench to tuck home from close range in the 54th minute after a low cross from Stanisic. Panama had the better of the first half — Livakovic tipped a Rodriguez header onto the crossbar — but couldn't find a way through once Croatia tightened up. The result eliminates Panama after two straight 0-1 defeats, and the game was the occasion of Luka Modric's 200th international appearance, which is either remarkable or a reminder that the man has been playing international football since about 2006. Croatia face Ghana in their final group game; Panama go home.
Pre-match Talking Points
-
1Both teams lost their opening game and the loser tonight is basically done. Croatia went down 4-2 to England, which looked bad. Panama lost 1-0 to Ghana in stoppage time, which looked unlucky. Either way: win or go home, just two games in.
-
2These two have never played each other before. Ever. First meeting, World Cup, stakes this high. Panama's only other World Cup was 2018, where they lost all three games without scoring. Croatia were runners-up that same year. Very different pedigrees walking into this one.
-
3Keep an eye on Luka Modrić. He's 40 years old and still the man running Croatia's show — the one who decides the pace, picks the passes, and generally makes everything work. He limped off against England after giving away a penalty. Whether he's fully fit tonight tells you pretty much everything about Croatia's chances.
-
4The subplot is Josko Gvardiol coming back. He's Croatia's best defender and missed the England game through injury. If he plays, Croatia's back line looks a lot more like the team that finished third in Qatar. If he doesn't, Panama — who actually dominated possession against Ghana before losing to a late goal — might fancy their chances more than the odds suggest.
-
5Here's the hook: Panama has never scored a point at a World Cup. Not one. They've played three games, lost three, scored one goal. Tonight they could change that piece of trivia forever, against a Croatia side that's leaking goals and missing players. It probably won't happen. But it might.
Team Talking Points
-
1Panama's tournament ended the way it started — a defeat, this time 2-0 to England on June 27. They lost all three group games, to Ghana, Croatia and England, without scoring a single goal, becoming the first side to go through a whole World Cup without a goal in 16 years.
-
2It reads brutally on paper, but Group L was one of the toughest draws going — England finished top, and both Croatia and Ghana went through as well. Panama were competitive for long stretches without ever getting the finishing touch that would have changed the story.
-
3The defining moment of the group actually belonged to someone else: Harry Kane became England's all-time record World Cup goalscorer against Panama in that final game, passing Gary Lineker. History was made on the pitch that day — just not Panama's.
-
4Adalberto Carrasquilla was Panama's best player throughout, a genuinely gifted midfielder who controls games from deep — the kind of player who makes a team's football look organised even when the scoreboard isn't cooperating.
-
5Not every World Cup story gets a redemption arc. This one was a tough group and a quiet exit — but Panama were there, in the biggest tournament football has, and that's still more than most countries ever manage.
🍺
Top thing to say down the pub
Panama didn't score a single goal in this whole World Cup — first team to manage that in 16 years — but they did share a group with the eventual group winners and two other qualifiers, so it wasn't for lack of a hard draw.
🚫
Avoid saying
Don't laugh about the 'no goals' stat like it's a punchline — going three games without scoring against a group that strong is a tough way to end a tournament, and it's still an achievement to have been there in the first place.
-
1Croatia's tournament ended in the Round of 32, beaten 2-1 by Portugal — a step earlier than the semi-final runs they're used to from 2018 and 2022, but a fair result against a very good side.
-
2The signature moment came in their final group game against Ghana: Luka Modric, at 40, became the oldest player ever to register a World Cup assist, setting up Nikola Vlašić's 83rd-minute winner, then blocked a goal-bound effort in his own box in stoppage time to make sure it counted.
-
3Modric also picked up his 200th cap for Croatia during the group stage, in the win over Panama — a number very few players in football history ever reach, let alone at a World Cup.
-
4Croatia lost their opener 4-2 to England, which looked like trouble at the time, but they responded by beating Panama and Ghana to finish second in the group anyway — the sign of a team that doesn't panic.
-
5This was Modric's third World Cup taking Croatia to the knockout stage in a row, and quite possibly his last — at 40, there won't be many more chances. If this is the end of his international story, it's one worth remembering fondly rather than mourning; not many players get to leave a stage still making history on their way out.
🍺
Top thing to say down the pub
Modric's 40, he just became the oldest man to ever set up a World Cup goal, and he still blocked a shot in his own box seconds later — that's not a farewell tour, that's just Modric.
🚫
Avoid saying
"Croatia always overachieve" — true, but say it like it's a compliment about a plucky underdog and any Croatian fan will remind you they've been a World Cup finalist and two-time semi-finalist this century. This is a genuinely good footballing nation, not a fairytale.