Modrić strike edges Croatia past Panama in tight World Cup contest

Croatia claimed their first win of the World Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Panama, as Luka Modrić’s precision and the Europeans’ control of possession ultimately proved decisive in this Match Round 2 encounter.

• Panama will play with England. June 27 at 21:00 (GMT), on MetLife Stadium.
• Croatia will play with Ghana. June 27 at 21:00 (GMT), on Lincoln Financial Field.

Panama

• Orlando Mosquera (6.6)
• Michael Amir Murillo Bermúdez (6.9)
• Jiovany Javier Ramos Díaz (6.9)
• José Ángel Córdoba Chambers (6.7)
• Andrés Alberto Andrade Cedeño (6.9)
• César Rodolfo Blackman Camarena (6.9)
• Cristian Jesús Martínez (6.6)
• Carlos Miguel Harvey Cesneros (6.2)
• Édgar Yoel Bárcenas Herrera (7)
• José Luis Rodríguez Francis (6.2)
• José Fajardo Nelson (6.9)

Croatia

Substitutions:

Panama

• Jiovany Javier Ramos Díaz (Cecilio Alfonso Waterman Ruíz, 77)
• José Fajardo Nelson (Azarías Emmanuel Londoño González, 83)
• César Rodolfo Blackman Camarena (Éric Javier Davis Grajales, 90)
• Édgar Yoel Bárcenas Herrera (Tomás Abdiel Rodríguez Mena, 90)

Croatia

• Petar Musa (Ante Budimir, 46)
• Joško Gvardiol (Andrej Kramarić, 46)
• Marco Pasalic (Luka Sučić, 72)
• Mateo Kovačić (Petar Sučić, 72)
• Luka Modrić (Mario Pasalic, 81)

Ball possession:

The Real Madrid midfielder delivered the key moment of quality in a cagey game, finishing the one clear chance Croatia carved out on a night dominated more by structure and defensive discipline than attacking fluency.

Passes:

Croatia, who enjoyed 64% of the ball, were patient and methodical, while Panama – limited to just one shot on target – relied on resilience and work rate but rarely threatened to force an upset.

Defense:

### Modrić’s class the difference

Face-to-face:

With Croatia needing a result to keep their World Cup campaign on track, it was no surprise that Modrić dictated the contest from midfield.

Fouls:

Yellow cards:

• Édgar Yoel Bárcenas Herrera (Panama) at 61 minute
• Petar Sučić (Croatia) at 90 minute

The last five games (including this match):

• Panama –
• Croatia –

Top 5 World Cup scorers:

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2. (0, )
3. (0, )
4. (0, )
5. (0, )

Line-ups:

Next games:

• Panama will play with England. June 27 at 21:00 (GMT), on MetLife Stadium.
• Croatia will play with Ghana. June 27 at 21:00 (GMT), on Lincoln Financial Field.