Team Sportstar

Croatia's Ante Budimir celebrates scoring his side’s first goal with Ivan Perisic and Martin Baturina. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Substitute Ante Budimir’s goal gave Croatia a crucial 1-0 win over Panama in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L encounter at the Toronto Stadium on Tuesday.

Introduced at half-time after an insipid opening period from both sides, Budimir bundled home Josip Stanisic’s cross in the 54th minute for the only goal of the game.

Croatia moved to third with three points, recovering from its opening gameweek defeat to England. Panama, meanwhile, was eliminated after its second defeat of the campaign.

Croatia will take on Ghana in its final group game, while Panama will take on England.

Comments

Published on Jun 24, 2026