Halftime substitute Ante Budimir scored in the 54th minute and Croatia eliminated Panama from World Cup contention with a tightly fought 1-0 victory in a Group L clash at Toronto on Tuesday.
It was the first World Cup goal for Budimir, 34, and fifth in a competitive fixture for his country, all of those coming since 2023.
Croatia (1-1-0, 3 points) remain third in the group heading into the final matchday, but they can guarantee a top-two finish with a victory over Ghana in their final match on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Panama (0-2-0, 0 points) are still seeking their first point five matches into their World Cup history, having also lost 1-0 to Ghana in their 2026 opener in Toronto last week.
However, despite playing the first two matches without injured talisman Adalberto Carrasquilla, Los Canaleros have a goal differential six better than at this stage in their first World Cup appearance in 2018.
