The Croatian national team revived its hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after securing a valuable and hard‑fought 1–0 victory over Panama on Tuesday evening, in the second round of Group 12 fixtures.
Ante Budimir played the role of savior, scoring the match’s only goal in the 54th minute, handing Croatia its first three points of the tournament after losing the opening match against England.
Despite Panama’s attempts to get back into the game, their attacking inefficiency and lack of a decisive final touch prevented them from finding an equalizer, leaving them without points and officially eliminated from the competition.
With this win, Croatia climbed to third place with three points, behind England at the top with four points, and Ghana, who share the same tally. Panama remain bottom of the group with zero points.
