Overview
Croatia and Panama will face each other in Toronto in a do-or-die match for both teams after defeats in the first match of Group L of the 2026 World Cup.
Zlatko Dalic's Croatian team lost to England 2-4 in the opening match. Despite equalizing twice thanks to goals from Martin Baturina and Petar Musa, they still could not resist the pressure from the "Three Lions" in the second half.
However, Dalic is probably not too pessimistic. Croatia has lost their opening match in four of the last six World Cups, but still reached the semi-finals in the last two.
The important thing at this time is that they must avoid another defeat. If they lose to Panama, Croatia will for the second time in history receive two consecutive defeats at the World Cup, after a series of defeats to Ecuador in 2002 and Brazil in 2006.
Against England, Croatia still left positive signals. The checkered shirt team made up to 187 pressure situations in the opponent's half, the most among all teams in the first match.
Another highlight is Luka Modric. This veteran midfielder became the second European player to participate in 10 major tournaments, only after Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Modric only played 58 minutes before leaving the field, at least in his 34 starts at the World Cup and EURO. The match against Panama could mark the milestone of 200 caps for the 40-year-old star.
Dalic may also consider using Mateo Kovacic from the start to increase the ability to control the midfield.
On the opposite side, Panama also had an unsuccessful start when they lost to Ghana 0-1 by Caleb Yirenkyi's goal in injury time. This result means Panama has lost all 4 matches in their World Cup history, conceding 12 goals and only scoring 2 goals.
However, the performance against Ghana brought many positive points to coach Thomas Christiansen's team.
Panama controlled the ball up to 62%, made 502 successful passes and created a game that was not inferior at all. These are numbers far exceeding what they had done at the 2018 World Cup.
Jose Cordoba is a prominent highlight with 101 successful passes, the most that a Panamanian player has ever made in a World Cup match.
Meanwhile, Andres Andrade also made a strong impression with 21 cross-line passes, belonging to the highest group in the league after the first match.
Determination is also Panama's strength. They made 29 tackles against Ghana, the most among the teams in the opening match.
However, the biggest problem is still the scoring ability. To improve the attack, Christiansen can give an opportunity to Ismael Diaz, the striker who won the Gold Cup Shoe and is expected to bring the necessary sharpness.
Head-to-head record
This will be the first time Croatia and Panama have faced each other in history.
Croatia's performance against representatives of the Americas at the World Cup is not really impressive. The checkered shirt team has lost 7 of the last 10 matches against opponents from this continent, only winning 2 and drawing 1.
Notably, Croatia only kept a clean sheet once in the above 10-match streak, which was a 3-0 victory over Argentina at the 2018 World Cup.
Score prediction: Panama 1-2 Croatia
The match between Panama and Croatia takes place at 6:00 a.m. on June 24 (Vietnam time).
