Croatia reacted after the defeat suffered in their debut against England by winning (1-0) and eliminating Panama from the 2026 World Cup in Toronto, Canada, this Tuesday (23), in what was star Luka Modric’s 200th match for his country’s national team.
Os Croatians took advantage of the few chances they had against an opponent who fought hard and refused to back down. The victory came thanks to a goal from Ante Budimir at the beginning of the second half (54′) and for the remainder of the match the Croatian team resisted moments of pressure.
With this result, IEngland and Ghana lead Group L with 4 points, followed by Croatia, with 3, and for Panama, with 0. In the last round, on Saturday (27), England will face Panama in New Jersey, while Croatia will play against Ghana in Philadelphia.
Panama, who dreamed of advancing from the group stage for the first time after their debut at the World Cup in Russia in 2018, said goodbye prematurely once again. Croatia remains in contention. After losing to England in the first round, the team can still finish first in the group if they beat Ghana and the English stumble against the Panamanians.
At times, the Central American team played on equal terms with the European teambut that was not enough to achieve a draw against the Croatian team, who in the end dedicated the victory to Modric. After the match, the Croatian players wore commemorative shirts that bore the image of their captain, the number 200 and the message “Infinite Legacy”.
