Croatia narrowly beat Panama to keep their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup play-offs alive
The Croatian national team beat Panama in their second Group L match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, ended in a narrow 1–0 victory for Croatia.
The only goal of the match was scored in the 54th minute. Ante Budimir met a cross from Josip Stanišić at the far post to secure victory for his team.
This is Croatia’s first point at this World Cup. In their opening match, the team lost 2–4 to England.
Panama lost 0–1 to Ghana in their opening match and, following their second consecutive defeat, have now lost any chance of progressing to the knockout stages.
In the other Group L match of the second round, England and Ghana played out a 0–0 draw.
After two matches, England and Ghana top the Group L table, both on 4 points. Croatia are in third place with three points. Panama remain without any points and have been eliminated from the competition.
In the final third matchday, Croatia will face Ghana, whilst Panama will take on England. Both matches will take place on 28 June at 00:00 Kyiv time.
The 2026 World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July in the USA, Mexico and Canada. This is the first World Cup to feature 48 national teams, a record in the tournament’s history.
All participants in the tournament are divided into 12 groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group, as well as the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.
