Panama knocked out of World Cup by Croatia's narrow win

Panama has been knocked out of the World Cup after Croatia won 1-0 on Tuesday. Croatia kept their hopes alive for moving to the last 32 of the tournament with this tough win.

Croatia reached the semifinals in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. They were looking to recover after losing 4-2 to England in their first Group L match.

Ante Budimir’s goal in the 54th minute was enough to beat the determined Panamanian team.

“You cannot win a match if you don’t score,” said Panama’s coach Thomas Christiansen, who was born in Denmark. He told reporters he was “super proud” of his players for their fight against the higher-ranked Croatian team.

Even though they were out of the tournament, Christiansen said Panama made progress. “These players, after these two World Cup matches, won’t be where they are today.”

Luka Modric, Croatia’s top player, was playing his 200th international match. His early header went over the bar and did not trouble Panama.

Under Christiansen, Panama set up a strong defense that allowed them to reach the World Cup for the second time. But in the first half, it was the Panamanian attack that came close to scoring.

In the 23rd minute, Jose Luis Rodriguez had a header aimed at goal, but Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic used his fingertips to deflect it off the bar.

The second half saw Croatia change the game's momentum. The crowd of 43,000 in Toronto, mostly Croatian fans, cheered loudly when Budimir scored from a cross by Josip Stanisic.

Croatia nearly scored again just minutes later. Modric sent a great pass to Marco Pasalic, who was alone on goal. Pasalic's first shot was saved by keeper Orlando Mosquera. When the rebound came back to him, he missed again, shooting over the bar while off-balance.

Panama kept trying to equalize, but they could not find the back of the net. This loss extended their World Cup goalless streak.

They will play England next on Friday in their final match of the tournament. Croatia now has three points and will face Ghana, who have four points after a goalless draw with England, for a chance to reach the final 32.