Modric’s historic night…Croatia-Pama recap and goals

Croatia kept their 2026 World Cup hopes alive after a valuable 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto to earn their first 3 points in Group 12.

While Panama’s national team officially bid farewell to the tournament, after becoming the sixth team in World Cup history to lose their first five matches in the finals.

An earlier goalless draw between England and Ghana meant that the loser of this encounter would be knocked out of the tournament early, as both teams played cautiously early on, with neither side in control of the game.

The most dangerous chance came before Panama’s first water stop in the 17th minute, when Jose Fajardo was inches away from a perfect pass that Michael Moro sent into the net.

Coach Zlatko Dalic tried to wake up his players during the break, but despite increasing Croatian pressure in the Panama half, the team failed to create any real chances before coming back in the dying minutes of the first half under the threat of Moreau’s passes.

Luka Modric’s miscued header and Morio’s save were almost the highlights of the half, before Martin Baturina’s powerful shot from outside the area in stoppage time forced goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera into a special intervention.

At the beginning of the second half, Dalic made two substitutions to change the course of the match, and one of the substitutes, Ante Budimir, managed to get what he needed less than 10 minutes later.

From the attack on the right flank, Josip Stanisic and Marko Pasalic exchanged the ball before the former crossed the line. Mosquera made a mistake handling it and it went to Budimir who easily put it into the net at the far post.

Croatia nearly doubled their lead after just three minutes, but Mosquera shone in a duel with Marko Pasalic, who received a superb pass from Modric on a quick counter-attack.

Panama regained their composure after that difficult period and dominated possession for long periods, but Livakovic was not seriously tested until midway through the second half, when the Croatian keeper saved two successive attempts from Morrow before Carlos Harvey’s header was deflected for a corner.

In his 200th international match, Luka Modric left the pitch with nine minutes left to cheers from the fans and his team-mates managed to hold on to the lead until the final whistle, so the veteran star was given a special mention and given a pat on the neck after the match, noting that he was also honored before kick-off.

The result will see Panama play their final match against England to save face with a chance to avenge their brutal 6-1 defeat to the Three Lions at the 2018 World Cup, while Croatia face Ghana in a crucial clash for a place in the qualifiers after never having won the World Cup. stage