After the loss to England, a World Cup goal restores balance to Croatia.

The Croatian national team revived its hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, currently being held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, after losing in the first round to England.

The Croatian team achieved a valuable and hard-fought victory over their Panamanian counterparts with a score of one goal to none, today Wednesday, Coordinated Universal Time, in the second round of the group stage of Group 12.

Ante Budimir scored the only goal of the match in the 54th minute, giving his country its first victory in the current edition of the World Cup, after the Panamanian players failed to equalize during the remaining time of the match.

The Croatian team raised its points total to three, placing it in third position, enhancing its chances of qualifying for the next round, while the Panamanian team remained in last place with no points, officially exiting the competition.

The England team leads the group standings with four points, ahead on goal difference of the Ghana team, which has the same points total.