In Group L, Croatia will be in third place, with England and Ghana heading into the final round with four points each.
Published June 24, 2026
Half-time substitute Ante Budimir scored in the 54th minute as Croatia eliminated Panama from the World Cup qualification race with a 1-0 win at Toronto Stadium.
In Tuesday’s Group L match, 34-year-old Budimir scored his first World Cup goal and his fifth in a competitive game for his country.
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Croatia will enter the final match in third place in the group with three points, but if they can defeat Ghana in the final match to be held in Philadelphia on Saturday, they will be guaranteed a place in the top two.
Panama lost 1-0 to Ghana in their 2026 opener in Toronto last week, and are still searching for their first point in their fifth World Cup match.
However, despite playing the first two games without injured talisman Adalberto Carrasquilla, Los Canales are making their first appearance at the 2018 World Cup and are six points ahead on goal difference at this stage.
Budimir put Croatia ahead on Tuesday with arguably the best attack of the game up to that point.
Josip Stanic combined with Marko Pašalić to break through down the right flank and fire a weighted cross into the top of the six-yard box.
Panamanian goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera dived to try to intercept the serve but was unable to reach it, and Budimir appeared at the back post and produced a composed finish for the opening goal.
The match lasted about 15 minutes.
Three minutes after the goal, Croatian captain Luka Modric forced Pasalic into the lone goal from his own half. Mosquera sized up Pašalić and charged from the line at the right time to deny the first attempt, and Pašalić took the rebound and fired a shot wide of the target from a poor angle.
Panama forced Dominik Livakovic to make three stops within a minute. The third one was probably the best. Livaković pounced to block Carlos Harvey’s header from a corner loft towards the back post.
A hydration break in the second half followed that sequence and probably disrupted Panama’s momentum, with Livaković never threatened in the final stages.
The Central American team will aim for spoiler play against England in the final on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Earlier on Tuesday, England and Ghana settled for a 0-0 draw, with both sides on four points.
