Substitute striker Ante Budimir scored the only goal of the match in the 54th minute, securing a dramatic 1-0 victory for Croatia over Panama at Toronto Stadium and eliminating their opponents from the 2026 World Cup group stage.
In the Group L match played on Tuesday, the 34-year-old Budimir netted his first career World Cup goal and his fifth in official international matches.
With this result, Croatia sit third in Group L with three points before the final round of fixtures. They can advance to the Round of 16 if they beat Ghana on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Panama remain without a point after five World Cup matches. Earlier in the tournament, they lost 1-0 to Ghana in their opener in Toronto. Despite missing star Adalberto Carrasquilla through injury, Los Canaleros have a goal difference six better than their first World Cup appearance in 2018.
Budimir's goal came from Croatia's best attacking move of the match. Josip Stanisic combined with Marco Pasalic down the right flank before delivering a precise cross into the six-yard box. Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera rushed out to challenge but could not reach the ball, and Budimir arrived at the far post to tap it into an empty net.
After the goal, the match exploded into life for about 15 minutes. Three minutes after scoring, Croatia captain Luka Modric set up Pasalic for a one-on-one chance. Mosquera raced out to narrow the angle, forcing Pasalic to shoot wide. In response, Panama created three dangerous opportunities that forced Dominik Livakovic into saves within a single minute, including a flying stop to deny Carlos Harvey's header from a corner kick.
The second-half water break arrived immediately after, possibly disrupting Panama's momentum. Livakovic was not threatened in the closing minutes. In their final match, Panama will face England at East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday.
Earlier on Tuesday, England and Ghana played out a 0-0 draw, leaving both sides on four points.
