Croatia edged Panama 1-0 overnight, a result that gave the team four points before its final Group 11 match against Ghana and eliminated Panama from the tournament. The victory leaves Croatia highly likely to advance even if it loses to Ghana, and under one scenario it could still finish first in the group.
Local Croatian outlet 24sata wrote that “Dominik Livakovic saved us,” praising the goalkeeper’s key stops. The report said his “big saves brought this victory,” noting Croatia missed several chances but took advantage of Orlando Mosquera’s lapse in concentration. Another outlet, Vecernji, said Livakovic “had to intervene again and again,” while Ante Budimir’s goal moved Croatia closer to the next round.
The match also marked Luka Modric’s 200th game for Croatia, a milestone highlighted by the Croatian press. Modric became only the fourth player in history to reach 200 official international appearances, after Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 230, Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa with 202, and Lionel Messi with 201.
Croatia is now expected to face Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, in a repeat of the teams’ Euro round of 16 meeting, assuming Croatia does not beat Ghana. Portugal has won seven of the 10 meetings between the sides. In Group 11, England leads with four points and a plus-two goal difference, Ghana has four points and plus one, Croatia has three points and minus one, and Panama is last with no points and a minus-two goal difference. Panama is out, England can secure first place with a win, and a draw between Croatia and Ghana could send both through.
