Budimir gives Croatia a 1-0 win to eliminate Panama from the World Cup | World Cup 2026

Croatia are third in Group L, with England and Ghana on four points each, heading into the last round of the tournament.

Halftime substitute Ante Budimir scored in the 54th minute as Croatia knocked Panama out of the World Cup with an emphatic 1-0 win at Toronto Stadium.

Tuesday’s Group L match saw 34-year-old Budimir score his first World Cup goal and fifth in the competition for his country.

Croatia remain third in the group with three points going into the final day, but they can guarantee a top-two finish with a win over Ghana in their final game on Saturday in Philadelphia.

Panama are still looking for their first five points in their World Cup history, too lost 1-0 to Ghana at their 2026 opener in Toronto last week.

However, despite playing the first two matches without the talisman Adalberto Carrasquilla, Los Canaleros have a six-goal difference over the current World Cup in 2018.

Budimir put Croatia ahead in what was the best match of the season until Tuesday.

Josip Stanisic combined with Marco Pasalic to get down the right, then hit a powerful cross into the top of the six-yard box.

Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera dived to attempt the job but couldn’t find it, and Budimir popped up behind to head the ball in at the end for an open goal.

With that, the game exploded for about 15 minutes.

Three minutes after the goal, Croatia captain Luka Modric played Pasalic alone with a goal from his own half. Mosquera sized up Pasalic and called on his line at the right moment to end the early attempt, and Pasalic shot wide from the poor side.

Panama responded by forcing Dominik Livakovic to make three saves in the space of a minute. The third was perhaps the best, as Livakovic jumped to deny Carlos Harvey’s header from a corner that rose to the back post.

A second-half hydration break followed suit, and perhaps disrupting Panama’s momentum, Livakovic was not threatened in the latter stages.

The Central Americans will now look to play spoiler against England in the final on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Early on Tuesday, England and Ghana, who it was 0-0they all have four points.