🎥 Croatia struggle, but knock out Panama! Colombia face CR7 for top spot 🔥 | OneFootball

Croatia earned its first win at the 2026 World Cup, making amends for the opening defeat against England. In their second Group L match, Modric and his teammates beat Panama 1-0 thanks to Ante Budimir’s goal early in the second half. A crucial result that gets Zlatko Dalic’s side off the mark and lets them celebrate their number 10’s 200th appearance for the national team in the best possible way.

It was anything but easy. In the first half, in fact, Panama created the more dangerous chances. Midway through the period, a combination between Murillo and Martinez put the Croatian defense under pressure, but the follow-up effort was dealt with comfortably enough by Livakovic. Soon after, Murillo was involved again with a precise cross for Rodriguez, who headed goalward. The Croatian goalkeeper got a touch, and the ball came back off 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 on the right flank, where Pasalic found Stanisic with a clever backheel. The defender made space for the cross and delivered a perfect ball into the middle of the box, where Budimir was ready and waiting to score for 1-0.

The lead gave Croatia more confidence, and a few minutes later they nearly doubled it. A mistake while playing out from the back by Panama allowed Modric to win the ball and send Marko Pasalic through on goal in front of Mosquera. The goalkeeper managed to save the first attempt and, on the rebound, Pasalic could not find the accuracy required from a very tight angle.

Trailing, Panama pushed until the very end, when Murillo had a free kick from the edge of the box, but he blasted it well over.

Thanks to this win, Croatia go into their next match against Ghana with a good chance of qualifying for the round of 32. A draw could be enough to achieve that goal, while even a defeat might still leave some hope alive through qualification as one of the best third-placed teams. For Panama, on the other hand, the World Cup ends here.

Colombia-Congo 1-0

Colombia head into the final matchday of Group K against Portugal with a place in the round of 32 already secured. The clash with Cristiano Ronaldo will mainly determine top spot in the group, at least for the South Americans. But it will also be a more meaningful test to assess the true level of the Cafeteros, who have maximum points but have not always been convincing in their performances. 

Meanwhile, the Colombians are enjoying the fine form of defender Munoz, who scored his second goal of this World Cup. After a 3-1 opening win over Cannavaro’s Uzbekistan, the same group had also seen Congo surprise Portugal with a 1-1 draw. If that result might have looked like the product of a particularly favorable day, the performance against Colombia confirmed the Africans’ solidity, as they managed to keep the score at 0-0 until the 76th minute, largely thanks to crucial saves from goalkeeper Mpasi. And late on, after Munoz’s goal, Congo also came close to equalizing, only to be denied by a great save from Vargas.

Also in the stands was famous Congolese fan Lumumba Vea, the living statue. On the pitch, Congo struggled from the opening minutes, despite an effort by Kayembe after just 48 seconds. From that moment on, however, control of the match passed almost entirely to Colombia, even if the Cafeteros mostly tried their luck from distance.

The numbers clearly highlighted Colombia’s superiority: after just 19 minutes, the shot count stood at 8-1, with five efforts on target to none for their opponents. As the minutes passed, however, Colombia’s attacking intensity dropped, allowing Congo to limit the spaces.

Even in the second half, the start favored the South Americans, with another crucial save by Mpasi from Luis Díaz. From the resulting rebound, Arias then failed to hit the target. Once again, though, Colombia slowed down and coach Lorenzo had to intervene with a few substitutions.

Among them, the introduction of Córdoba proved crucial, as he gave the attack a stronger physical presence. It was one of his plays that sparked the move leading to Munoz’s decisive goal, helped as well by a deflection off Kapuadi that left Mpasi with no chance. It was a goal that rewarded the team that had created more over the course of the entire match and sends Colombia through to the round of 32.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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