Panama 0-1 Croatia - World Cup result as Ante Budimir hits winner to eliminate Panama on historic night for Luka Modric

Croatia belatedly got their 2026 World Cup up and running as Ante Budimir hit the winner against a resilient Panama, knocking the Central American side out of the World Cup in the process.

Panama enjoyed the better of the first-half action but as against Ghana, failure to capitalise on their chances was ultimately their undoing.

And when Zlatko Dalic made a bold double-change at half-time, hooking Josko Gvardiol and Petar Musa for Andrej Kramaric and Budimir, the latter made Los Canaleros pay by turning home Josip Stanisic’s sumptuous cross.

Jose Fajardo was inches away from making contact with a Jose Cordoba cross at point-blank range in the best chance of the first half and Dominik Livakovic - who put in another heroic performance for Croatia - turned a bullet header onto the bar as Panama looked more likely to score early on and spoil Luka Modric’s 200th international game.

The midfielder becomes the fourth man to achieve that milestone but was unable to fashion any gilt-edged chances in the first half and it was Bayern Munich's Stanisic, the new star of Croatian football, who made the difference 10 minutes into the second half with a sensational cross for Budimir who finished well at an awkward height.

Modric set Marco Pasalic clear soon afterwards but the forward attempted an ill-advised chip rather than passing to Martin Baturina for a tap-in and though Panama forced more saves from Livakovic including a superb reaction stop to Carlos Harvey’s powerful header, they couldn’t get the goal their efforts deserve.

So Panama are eliminated before the final group match but they will not provide an easy game for England in the last Group L action. Los Canaleros side defended resolutely throughout but also created plenty of promising openings on both flanks, and lacked only the threat in the penalty area to capitalise.

And the win for Modric’s side means England must match the result of the Croatia versus Ghana clash to top Group L after their draw earlier.

We will have live text coverage of the big games today and tomorrow including Scotland's do-or-die clash against Brazil which kicks off at midnight, here is the lie of the land.

Jordan 1-2 Algeria

Panama 0-1 Croatia

03:00 - Colombia v Democratic Republic of Congo

20:00 - Bosnia & Herzegovina v Qatar

20:00 - Switzerland v Canada

Thursday 00:00 - Scotland v Brazil, Morocco v Haiti

Here's how the group now looks, Panama are out and England can top the group with a draw on the final day if the match between Ghana and Croatia also remains tied.

However, if either side is victorious then England will also need three points against Panama to finish first.

1. England, 4 points (+2 goal difference)

2. Ghana, 4 (+1)

3. Croatia, 3 (-1)

4. Panama, 0 (-2)

The winner of this group will face a third-placed team from groups E, H, I, J or K (currently Ecuador, Cape Verde, Senegal, Algeria and DRC) while the second-placed team will take on the runner-up in Group K which will be one of Portugal, Colombia or DRC.

You can check all the latest group standings here.

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Panama are out of the World Cup! They couldn't fashion a real opportunity in stoppage time after the Murillo miss and despite Panama's invention, the expertise, depth and cutting edge of Croatia made the difference in Toronto.

Sucic is booked for a foul around 30 yards out and it takes about two minutes for Croatia to construct their defences in front of Livakovic.

They needn't have bothered though because Murillo's shot was way off target.

And they start with a Panama free-kick.

The face we've been talking more about the action on the Panama bench than in the Croatian penalty area in the last 10 minutes shows the great work Dalic's side are doing.

Barcenas and Blackman are off, Eric Davis and Tomas Rodriguez are on.

The fresh legs of Croatia are having a massive impact right now, preventing Panama from getting into their half.

Christiansen makes another change, swapping strikers as Azarias Londono comes on for Fajardo - who's got into good areas for Panama but has failed to capitalise.

The sub has never scored for his national team.

The skipper's 200th appearance is over, as Mario Pasalic trots on and Perisic assumes the captaincy.

The new arrival is no relation of Marco Pasalic who stuffed up that glorious opportunity to put the game to bed earlier - if you've ever wondered why so many Croatian names rhyme it's because '-ic' means 'little son of'.

Panama win their fifth corner of the match, but set-piece impotence is their undoing once again.

The deep delivery falls to Harvey, he takes a touch towards the by-line which narrows his angle and then he hits the wrong side of the goal.

And no sooner is that comment posted than Christiansen rolls the dice - centre-back Jiovany Ramos is off for striker Cecilio Waterman.

Luka Sucic is involved first, chasing a ball hit forwards after a decent spell of Croatian pressure, but Thomas Christiansen is yet to make any movement on the touchline.

And he needs to do something soon, just to give his subs time to bed into the contest.

We're going again, but without Pasalic and Kovacic who have been replaced by cousins Petar and Luka Sucic.

Both are more reserved midfielders as Dalic looks to consolidate his XI following the success of his more aggressive change earlier.

It's the best opportunity of the game - and maybe the World Cup - for Panama!

The corner swings in and Carlos Harvey rises highest to head goalwards, only to be met by a tremendous reaction save from Livakovic.

The keeper is the busiest Croatian so far right now but even he would've struggled to stop the ball if Harvey had been able to direct his header away from the centre of the goal.

And you know the drill by now - all the excitement from such a thrilling chance is immediately sapped by the hydration break.

Martinez heroically keeps the ball in play, and feeds Murillo who drives in and forces a smart double-save from a tight angle. That wins a corner and Croatia are creaking.

Panama look like they no this is their best chance to get a result this World Cup so they're throwing everything at Croatia.

However, that's leaving plenty of counter-attack opportunities for their aging opponents.

Panama have been flying into some reckless, crunching tackles so it's a surprise that this Barcenas booking for a late check on Modric is the first card of the game.

Murillo lifts in a cross for Fajardo who has a free header within 12 yards, but he came a bit too short too attack the ball and his header goes too high.

Fajardo will want that back.