Croatia held its own FIFA World Cup hopes alive with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Panama on Tuesday, thanks to a second-half goal from Ante Budimir.Budimir scored in the 54th minute, just four minutes after coming on as a substitute. Josip Stanišic brought a curling cross into the box and Budimir was perfectly placed to guide the ball into an empty net.The win keeps Croatia in the hunt for a place in the knockout stages ahead of their final Group L game against Ghana on Saturday. Panama, meanwhile, were eliminated from the tournament and have been without a World Cup point in their two appearances.After a quiet first half at BMO Field, Croatia stepped up after the break and found the breakthrough through Budimir.The 2018 finalists nearly doubled their top moments after that. Veteran midfielder Luka ModricMaking his 200th appearance for Croatia, he released Marco Pašalic with a fine pass on the counter-attack. However, Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera produced an important save to deny Pašalic.Panama pushed hard for an equalizer and came closest in the 67th minute. Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic came to his team’s rescue with three outstanding saves in quick succession, including a fingertip stop that pushed the ball over the crossbar.The battle for qualification from group L will come down to the last round of matches. England and Ghana are tied on four points, while Croatia sit on three.On Saturday, England face Panama in East Rutherford, while Croatia take on Ghana in Philadelphia with a place in the knockout stages on the line.
