Croatia earned its first win at the 2026 World Cup, bouncing back from the opening defeat to England. In their second Group L match, Modric and his teammates beat Panama 1-0 thanks to an Ante Budimir goal early in the second half. It was a crucial result, allowing Zlatko Dalic’s side to get off the mark in the standings and celebrate their number 10’s 200th appearance for the national team in the best possible way.
It was far from a walk in the park. In the first half, in fact, Panama created the most dangerous chances. Midway through the half, a move involving Murillo and Martinez put the Croatian defense under pressure, but the follow-up effort was handled without too much trouble by Livakovic. Shortly after, Murillo was involved again with a precise cross for Rodriguez, who met it with a header. The Croatian goalkeeper got a touch on the ball, which then hit the crossbar.
The turning point came in the 54th minute. Budimir, who had just come on for Musa, needed only a few minutes to make his mark. The move started down the right flank, where Pasalic set up Stanisic with a classy backheel. The defender found ***** e to cross and delivered a perfect ball into the middle of the box, where Budimir was ready and made it 1-0.
The lead gave Croatia more confidence, and a few minutes later they came close to doubling it. A mistake while playing out from the back by Panama allowed Modric to win the ball and send Marko Pasalic through on goal, one-on-one with Mosquera. The goalkeeper managed to parry the first attempt and, on the rebound, Pasalic failed to find the accuracy needed from a very tight angle.
Trailing, Panama kept pushing until the very end, when Murillo had a free kick from the edge of the box, but blasted it well over.
It was far from a walk in the park. In the first half, in fact, Panama created the most dangerous chances. Midway through the half, a move involving Murillo and Martinez put the Croatian defense under pressure, but the follow-up effort was handled without too much trouble by Livakovic. Shortly after, Murillo was involved again with a precise cross for Rodriguez, who met it with a header. The Croatian goalkeeper got a touch on the ball, which then hit the crossbar.
The turning point came in the 54th minute. Budimir, who had just come on for Musa, needed only a few minutes to make his mark. The move started down the right flank, where Pasalic set up Stanisic with a classy backheel. The defender found ***** e to cross and delivered a perfect ball into the middle of the box, where Budimir was ready and made it 1-0.
The lead gave Croatia more confidence, and a few minutes later they came close to doubling it. A mistake while playing out from the back by Panama allowed Modric to win the ball and send Marko Pasalic through on goal, one-on-one with Mosquera. The goalkeeper managed to parry the first attempt and, on the rebound, Pasalic failed to find the accuracy needed from a very tight angle.
Trailing, Panama kept pushing until the very end, when Murillo had a free kick from the edge of the box, but blasted it well over.
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