Panama 0-1 Croatia: Budimir 54
It was a difficult contest and for long stretches it looked like a win could prove elusive for Croatia. But with three points here, courtesy of Ante Budimir’s second-half strike, they have revived their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, sending Panama home in the process.
But the central American side certainly fought hard in pursuit of their first World Cup point. A tense and attritional contest at BMO Field offered little in the way of attacking quality for nearly the entire opening hour. Indeed watching this game was like spending two hours watching a traffic jam. A few parts were moving but it was rather difficult to get excited about anything.
Budimir’s intervention six minutes to the hour changed the dynamic and Croatia no longer had to worry too much about probing a Panama side content to defend deep in a compact 5-4-1 shape.
The Europeans entered the match under pressure following their opening defeat to England. With Ghana having won this fixture, a draw would have put Croatia on the brink of an exit ahead of the final group fixture between the two sides. But they can approach that game now knowing that a win would be the target, but a draw could still offer a place in the next round as best losers.
There was barely any attacking threat in the first half here but it was indeed Panama who came closest. Jose Luis Rodriguez met Amir Murillo’s delivery with a powerful header that forced Dominik Livakovic into a fine save, the Croatian goalkeeper tipping the effort on to the underside of the crossbar before the danger was cleared.
Croatia struggled to break through Panama’s defensive lines and frequently resorted to crosses into a crowded penalty area. Coach Zlatko Dalic responded by introducing Budimir at half-time, and the substitution soon delivered a reward.
On minute 54, Marco Pasalic threaded a pass to the right into the path of the overlapping Josip Stanisic, whose low cross evaded goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera and arrived perfectly for Budimir to convert from close range.
Panama had previously been content to sit back but the goal forced them forward in search of an equaliser, leaving spaces and opening the game up more, making the last half hour much more of an interesting watch. Luka Modric soon released Pasalic on a counterattack moments later, but Mosquera denied the winger.
There were some good chances after the hour for Panama to level but Livakovic was on hand with a triple save to preserve his side’s advantage.
