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9 hours ago
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Key events
Reader Billy is strolling down memory lane as Mateo Kovacić takes his seat on the bench…
I remember when Kovacić was the future of Croatia AFTER Modrić and Rakitic. Now it looks like him, Modrić and Perisić are on their way out together.
Time truly is a flat circle.
72 min More subs for Croatia as we enter the final quarter…
Marco Pasalic and Mateo Kovacic off
Petar and Luka Sučić in. They’re cousins.
Reader Tom just wants it to make sense…
So: there are eight third-placed teams going in the knockouts. There are twelve first-placed teams. It appears, from looking at the pre-tourney brackets, that eight groups were selected to have the group winner face a third-place team, while the winners of the other four group winners drew a second-place team. I haven’t seen a good explanation for this. Is there one?
A great question that I wish I could answer. Best theory I’ve heard is that it was randomly determined, though that doesn’t seem like a great method to give two-thirds of group winners a leg up…
68 min PANAMA PUSHING FOR AN EQUALIZER! Cristian Martínez makes a nifty slide to keep the ball in play to kick off a sequence of in-box passes and attempts that are largely blocked by Croatia. Eventually Livaković is called into action for a save, while the ensuing corner forces the goalkeeper to make another stop.
And right on cue, the game grinds to a halt so they can whet their whistles. Ughhhhhhhhh…
65 min For a team that has really struggled to turn crosses into viable scoring chances, it’s baffling that Panama continue to lean heavily on looping balls from wide areas. Credit to Croatia for gumming up the central channels and forcing Panama wide – it’s working a charm.
61 min A yellow card shown to Bárcenas after dropping a shoulder into the side of Luka Modrić.
57 min NEARLY ANOTHER! Croatia had an unimpeded run up the gut available as Panama commits numbers, with Modrić threading a ball into Pasalić’s stride. The Orlando City man tried to get Mosquera to commit, but the Panama goalkeeper stood his ground long enough to get a hand on a late looping chip by Pasalić. The ball again went into Pasalić’s stride, but his shot near the endline is skied into the seats.
54 min At long last, and in spite of some wasteful build-up, Croatia has found a breakthrough. Marco Pasalić plays a silky through ball behind his back along the line into Stanišić’s stride, and the Bayern defender crosses the ball in front of the goalkeeper to the far post. Budimir ran on with perfect timing, slamming the ball into the net with his torso to reward Zlatko Dalić for his halftime change.
As it stands, Panama is 35 minutes (and stoppage) away from elimination.
GOAL! Panama 0-1 Croatia (Budimir 54)
Finally! Someone got on the end of a cross!
52 min For a team that’s struggling to get targets in the box during the run of play, very curious to see Panama play their corner kick short. Nothing comes of it, as they dawdled too long to find a better pathway into the box before Croatia could clear.
52 min Loose passes galore for both teams, but Panama able to earn a corner kick after another speculative cross by Martínez…
49 min Tense moment for Croatia as Dominik Livaković stays on the ground after his foot is stomped launching a ball upfield. Foul wasn’t called, and the goalkeeper is quick to get up after the referee pauses play.
46 min Two changes for Croatia as play resumes to fix a couple problem areas from the first half. Josko Gvardiol gets a half-time hook as Amir Murillo had his way with their flank, while Petar Musa exits after an ineffective shift leading the line following his goalscoring World Cup debut against England.
Ante Budimir and Andrej Kramaric the fresh faces, which may slightly shift the team shape.
Leander Schaerlaeckens
After getting Brazil-Morocco, France-Senegal and Germany-Côte d’Ivoire, your correspondent doesn’t feel like he has any right to complain about this half. Or else he might.
This has been some strange soccer. Either walking or sprinting, but never anything in between.
A half for enthusiasts of full-back runs up the flank, but neither team is able to turn their bevy of crosses into looks. Both teams have connected on a pair of crosses, with Panama narrowly edging the accuracy contest: 18% to Croatia’s 14%.
HALF-TIME: PANAMA 0-0 CROATIA
Maybe they’ll find their shooting boots during the team talks!
45+2' min ATTEMPT! Baturina sends in a shot from beyond the edge of the box but Mosquera dives to protect his near post. The ensuing Croatian corner fails to yield another shot.
45 min Just the three minutes of additional time due to the drinks.
Leander Schaerlaeckens
45 min In case you’re wondering why there’s suddenly atmosphere at this game…
Dominik Livaković felt things had gotten a little sleepy and whips the Croatian supporters into a frenzy.
43 min Just about as lively as the first half of Group L’s other match, with Croatia and Panama each managing just one shot apiece with halftime nearing.
40 min Murillo is finding plenty of space available up the right flank and dribbles into the box, but there simply haven’t been enough targets for Panama to maximize all of these opportunities to cross.
One to monitor: José Córdoba has been clutching his right side after a hip-to-hip scrap with Marco Pašalić.
36 min Not much scintillating run-of-play stuff yet, but Croatia wins a free-kick at the edge of their attacking third. Modrić plays it short and the pass back is immediately turned over, but Panama is unable to maximize a brief two-on-two break after a poor ball to the flank.
30 min A Croatia free kick near the corner flag after Bárcenas takes down Baturina. Modrić curls the ball just goal-side of the penalty spot, but Panama are able to clear and force the reigning two-time semifinalist to their own half to regroup.
28 min It’s still just a bit plodding for Croatia, who are suddenly being outshot by Panama a third of the way through the contest. Panama’s defense is doing well to force Croatia wide and limiting them to speculative crosses. Then again, Petar Musa is a proven option to win headers, arguably the best striker in MLS at present.
Fun fact! Luka Modrić’s first cap came in a friendly against Argentina on March 1, 2006. Also notable: that game featured the first international goal from a young Lionel Messi.
23 min CROSSBAR! Murillo sends in yet another lovely cross after hustling to keep the ball from going out for a goal kick, finding José Luis Rodríguez for a stationed header in the box. Livaković with a bit more to do than he had a minute ago, and is able to push the ball onto the crossbar to keep this scoreless.
And with that, we enter the requisite buzz-killing hydration break.
22 min Another Panamanian scamper! Murillo plays helper in a give-and-go with his captain, Cristian Martínez, who carries the ball half the length of the pitch before curling a shot into Livaković’s loving grasp.
18 min This game is finally getting a bit stretched with that pesky hydration break looming! Final five minutes of the quarter, I suppose.
Panama with two speculative waves of pressure, one with a low cross from Amir Murillo in front of goal that goes uncashed and before another direct break fails to yield a goal, while Croatia has picked up its rate of progression following Panama’s pressure.
Leander Schaerlaeckens
15 min You can see Croatia looking for the half-spaces but there just... aren’t any, because those Panamanian lines are superglued together. So they’re just trying speculative through balls and crosses instead, which are just easy turnovers.
10 min …but no dice, as Yoel Bárcenas’ outswinger is headed to safety by Croatia.
8 min Carlos Harvey draws a free kick for Panama just over 22 yards from goal and slightly right of center. The midfielder’s dribble toward the center of the field baits Kovačić into a sliding foul…
5 min Referee Pierre Ghislain Atcho – who also worked Iraq-Norway – has already needed his whistle a few times as both teams try to establish a physical presence. Early, of course, but Croatia seem eager to keep most of the ball while Panama is looking to play direct and then advance its lines once the ball is into the opponent’s half.
2 min Croatia creates first with Stanišić running up the right and playing a cross to Modrić, whose header goes well over the bar.
1 min They’re off and trotting in Toronto! A loss would send either team home – great for neutrals, tense for fans of the teams involved. Panama playing left-to-right for those watching at home.
Leander Schaerlaeckens
Ear-splitting cheers from this very pro-Croatia – Proatia? – crowd for Luka Modrić. We all know the end is near and there’s a palpable sense in the air that we might all be seeing him for the last time.
Then again, I had that feeling when I saw him in Qatar. So...
While Modrić is the headline starter as he makes his 200th cap, it’ll be worth seeing if Fidel Escobar checks in for Panama from the bench, with the defender currently sitting on 99 caps to date. For now, each team has its own quartet of centurions…
Panama
Aníbal Godoy (160)
Alberto Quintero (141)
Eric Davis (107)
Yoel Bárcenas (106)
Croatia
Luka Modrić (200)
Ivan Perišić (156)
Andrej Kramarić (117)
Mateo Kovačić (115)
To clarify the stakes for this contest: although a win would not secure a place in the Round of 32, defeat would eliminate either side with a game left to play.
Group L standings
1. England (4 pts, +2 GD)
2. Ghana (4 pts, +1 GD)
3. Panama (0 pts, -1 GD)
4. Croatia (0 pts, -2 GD)
Matt Hughes
When Panama-Croatia was originally assigned to Toronto, it was among the (relatively) more affordable games involving a prominent Uefa team with a Cat-3 entry point of $180 (€158). From there, dynamic pricing did its thing.
Earlier today, Matt Hughes had the exclusive that the US-based staff advised against using the customer-unfriendly pricing model, but were ultimately overruled.
Leander Schaerlaeckens
We also have Leander Schaerlaeckens at the grounds to provide color on Panama-Croatia…
There’s some sappy Croatian power ballad playing and the sea of Croats is going absolutely nuts belting it out. Like, true Eurovision stuff.
We may need hot tea for the hydration break here. It’s positively chilly in the press box.
Lineups: Modrić earns his 200th cap
A historic moment for the sport as Modrić becomes the fourth man to earn 200 international caps. Still no Coco Carrasquilla in the lineup as he returns from a pre-tournament knock, though the Pumas midfielder is on the bench.
Panama (3-4-3)
O. Mosquera
J. Córdoba – C. Blackman – J. Ramos
A. Andrade – C. Harvey – C. Martínez – A. Murillo
J. Rodríguez – J. Fajardo – Y. Bárcenas (c)
Croatia (4-3-3)
D. Livaković
J. Gvardiol – M. Pongračić – J. Šutalo – J. Stanišić
M. Kovačić – M. Baturina – L. Modrić (c)
I. Perišić – P. Musa – M. Pašalić
Coming into the tournament, Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic warned that losing an open match “can destroy everything” for a team in a major tournament. History informed this dramatic stance, with Croatia opening Euro 2024 with a 3-0 defeat to Spain and subsequently bowing out in the group stage.
2018’s run to the World Cup final kicked off with a win over Nigeria; in 2022, a draw against Morocco put both teams on their paths to the semifinal. Just how destroying will that opening 4-2 loss to England prove to be?
If Luka Modrić appears today (and there’s no reason to think he won’t), he’ll become just the fourth man to log 200 international caps. To date, 30 women have played at least 200 international matches.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal (230)*
2. Bader Al-Mutawa, Kuwait (202)
3. Lionel Messi, Argentina (201)*
4. Luka Modrić, Croatia (199)*
5. Soh Chin Ann, Malaysia (195)
*Asterisk to denote an active player
Preamble
While Panama and Croatia have never before faced off in a competitive fixture, both men’s national teams have seen their reputations greatly enhanced since the 2018 World Cup. For Panama, it was their first trip to a World Cup after finishing above the United States in Concacaf qualifying, a “happy to be here” debut with three defeats and a -9 goal difference. For Croatia, it was the high point of a golden generation, an inspired run to a first World Cup final and a second-place finish to show for their efforts.
Both teams have remained around their confederations’ contending class. Panama has continued to frustrate the US and Mexico as one of the region’s rising challengers, joining Canada and Costa Rica among the usual suspects. Croatia struggled at Euro 2020 but rebounded to reach another World Cup semifinal in 2022, settling for third place.
This summer, both squads skew towards the veterans. Panama’s youngest member is 24 years old, while veterans Luka Modrić, Ivan Perišić, and Andrej Kramarić fended off more youthful alternatives to add one more tournament to their considerable CVs.
Panama play without fear, no longer among the tournament’s freshest faces, and has the guile and physicality to frustrate any opponent – but conceding at the death against Ghana has put them under pressure to find a path to the knockouts against a pair of Uefa qualifiers. Croatia were unable to keep stride with England and will be hungry to respond to their own opening defeat.
A comfortable 24ºC (75ºF) in Toronto as the evening nears. An important Group L clash awaits!
Jeff will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s our brief of to know about Panama and Croatia before their Group L clash in Toronto.
Panama
La Marea Roja arrive in full voice. After their historic World Cup debut at Russia 2018, they mean business this time round, and want to progress from the group. With Michael Murillo leading from the back, the midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla providing a creative spark and the captain, Aníbal Godoy, still the heart and soul of the team, Panama are ready to write a new chapter.
Panama look improved in possession and arrived in North America full of confidence off the back of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2024 Copa América and the final of the 2023 Gold Cup.
Croatia
Croatia are among the oldest teams at this World Cup, with roughly half or more of their starters into their 30s and the captain, Luka Modric, now 40. That means loads of experience and a winning mentality but also raises some uneasy questions.
Can the old guard of Modric, Kovacic (32), Ivan Perisic (37) and Andrej Kramaric (turning 35) still cut it? Are the younger, lesser-known players ready to step up? Croatia have been used to punching above their weight and their success at the past two World Cups has set the bar impossibly high, but they seem determined to deliver one last hurrah.
