Panama vs Croatia
Budimir's strike secures Croatia win
A solitary goal after the break was enough for Croatia to edge Panama.
Croatia claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Panama thanks to A. Budimir's 54th-minute goal. The match was tightly contested, with the decisive moment coming shortly after the interval. Fipster's prediction of an away win was on the money, though the exact scoreline was a bit off.
Analysis
As the group stage unfolds, Panama faces a stern test against Croatia. With contrasting squad strengths and recent performances, this match promises a clear favourite.
Panama, making their second World Cup appearance, have a modest best finish of group stage in 2018. Croatia, with six prior appearances and a runners-up finish in 2018, bring experience and quality to the pitch. Both teams qualified directly, but Croatia dominated their group with 22 points and a +22 goal difference, while Panama topped their group with 12 points and a +5 goal difference.
Croatia boasts a squad with 17 players in top-5 European leagues, including stars like Luka Modrić of AC Milan and Andrej Kramarić of 1899 Hoffenheim. Panama's squad is primarily from tier3+ leagues, highlighting a significant quality gap. Recent form favours Croatia with 2.286 points per game compared to Panama's 1.714. This calibre and form disparity strongly suggests Croatia will control the match, likely securing a clean sheet and scoring twice.
Prediction
Expect Croatia to lead by halftime with a 1-0 advantage and extend their lead to 2-0 by fulltime. The match should see around four cards, reflecting typical group stage discipline. Panama's offensive struggles and Croatia's creative midfielders like Ivan Perišić and Petar Sučić will be key factors in the outcome.
Outcome probability
Key Insights
Croatia's midfield creativity vs Panama's defense
Croatia's creative midfielders Perišić and Sučić have strong assist form against Panama's defense that concedes regularly.
Croatia's superior goal-scoring form
Croatia averages 2 goals per away game with key attackers Musa and Baturina scoring consistently, Panama failed to score in last match.
Panama's offensive struggles
Panama failed to score in their last away match and have low attacking stats, limiting their scoring chances.
No significant injuries affecting lineups
Both teams have no reported injuries, so full squads expected, maintaining tactical stability.
Key Takeaways
In summary, Croatia's blend of experience, squad quality, and recent form makes them clear favourites to claim all three points against Panama. While Panama will fight hard, the gulf in class is evident, making a Croatian victory the most likely scenario.
- Croatia has 6 prior World Cup appearances with a best finish as runners-up in 2018.
- Panama is appearing in their 2nd World Cup, best finish was group stage in 2018.
- Croatia qualified top of their group with 22 points and a +22 goal difference.
- Panama qualified top of their group with 12 points and a +5 goal difference.
- Croatia's squad includes 17 players from top-5 European leagues.
- Panama's squad has no players from top-5 European leagues.
- Croatia's recent form yields 2.286 points per game, Panama's 1.714.
- Predicted final score is Panama 0 - 2 Croatia with 75% confidence.
Player Insights
Standout players Fipster expects to impact the match — curated highlights, not full squad lists
Home — Panama
Away — Croatia
Form as the teams went into this match — excludes this result and anything since.
Team Comparison
Season shape — attack, defence, form, clean sheets & win rate
Home vs Away comparison
Goal difference in each of the last few fixtures — above the line is a net win, below is a net loss
Season comparison
Goals scored & conceded, goal difference and clean sheets across the season
Halftime Performance
What each side does once the whistle goes for half time
Streaks
Recent-form runs — each side’s most-recent game meets in the middle
Head to Head
FIFA world ranking
Musa
Gvardiol
Budimir
Assist: Stanišić
Bárcenas
Yellow Card
Pasalic
Kovačić
Ramos
Modrić
Fajardo
Sučić
Yellow Card
Blackman
Bárcenas
Match Statistics
Panama
5-4-1Starting XI
- 2C. BlackmanD
- 3J. CórdobaD
- 6Cristian Jesús MartínezM
- 7J. RodríguezM
- 11Y. BárcenasM
- 13J. RamosD
- 14C. HarveyM
- 16A. AndradeD
- 17J. FajardoF
- 22O. MosqueraG
- 23A. MurilloD
Substitutes
- 1L. MejíaG
- 4F. EscobarD
- 5E. FariñaD
- 8A. CarrasquillaM
- 9T. RodríguezF
- 10I. DíazF
- 12C. SamudioG
- 15É. DavisD
- 18C. WatermanF
- 19A. QuinteroF
- 20A. GodoyM
- 21C. YanisF
- 24A. LondoñoF
- 25R. MillerD
- 26J. GutiérrezD
Croatia
4-2-3-1Starting XI
- 1D. LivakovićG
- 2J. StanišićD
- 3M. PongračićD
- 4J. GvardiolD
- 6J. ŠutaloD
- 8M. KovačićM
- 10L. ModrićM
- 14I. PerišićM
- 16M. BaturinaM
- 24Marco PasalicM
- 26P. MusaF
Substitutes
- 5D. Ćaleta-CarD
- 7N. MoroM
- 9A. KramarićF
- 11A. BudimirF
- 12I. PandurG
- 13N. VlašićM
- 15Mario PasalicM
- 17P. SučićM
- 18K. JakićM
- 19T. FrukM
- 20I. MatanovićF
- 21L. SučićM
- 22L. VuškovićD
- 23D. KotarskiG
- 25M. ErlićD
Panama
| Player | Pos | Min | Rating | G | A | Shots | SoT | Key Passes | Dribbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoel Bárcenas(C) | M | 49 | 7.0 | — | — | — | — | — | 2/2 |
| Andrés Andrade | D | 49 | 6.9 | — | — | — | — | — | 1/1 |
| Jiovany Ramos | D | 49 | 6.9 | — | — | — | — | — | 1/1 |
| Amir Murillo | D | 49 | 6.9 | — | — | — | — | — | 2/4 |
| César Blackman | D | 49 | 6.9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| José Fajardo | F | 49 | 6.9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| José Córdoba | D | 49 | 6.7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cristian Martínez | M | 49 | 6.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Orlando Mosquera | G | 49 | 6.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Carlos Harvey | M | 49 | 6.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| José Luis Rodríguez | M | 49 | 6.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Substitutes | |||||||||
| Edgardo Fariña | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Luis Mejía | G | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Éric Davis | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fidel Escobar | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aníbal Godoy | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Alberto Quintero | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cecilio Waterman | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jorge Gutiérrez | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Adalberto Carrasquilla | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| César Samudio | G | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| César Yanis | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tomás Rodríguez | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Roderick Miller | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ismael Díaz | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Azarias Londoño | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Croatia
| Player | Pos | Min | Rating | G | A | Shots | SoT | Key Passes | Dribbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josip Šutalo | D | 49 | 7.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Luka Modrić(C) | M | 49 | 6.9 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| Dominik Livaković | G | 49 | 6.7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ivan Perišić | M | 49 | 6.7 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — |
| Josip Stanišić | D | 49 | 6.7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Joško Gvardiol | D | 49 | 6.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marco Pašalić | M | 49 | 6.6 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3/3 |
| Martin Baturina | M | 49 | 6.6 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 3/3 |
| Marin Pongračić | D | 49 | 6.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Petar Musa | F | 49 | 6.3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mateo Kovačić | M | 49 | 6.3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Substitutes | |||||||||
| Dominik Kotarski | G | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Andrej Kramarić | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ivor Pandur | G | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kristijan Jakić | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Martin Erlić | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ante Budimir | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Igor Matanović | F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Toni Fruk | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Petar Sučić | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Luka Vušković | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nikola Vlašić | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nikola Moro | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Duje Ćaleta-Car | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mario Pašalić | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Luka Sučić | M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |