On the night Luka Modrić became only the fourth man in history to reach 200 international caps — joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Bader Al-Mutawa — it was a 34-year-old substitute who rescued Croatia. Ante Budimir, on at the break for Petar Musa, swept in Josip Stanišić's right-wing cross with his left foot in the 54th minute after a slick give-and-go between Stanišić and Marco Pašalić, sending the pro-Croatia sellout of 43,036 at Toronto's BMO Field into raptures and burying Panama's World Cup.

It was harder than the scoreline. Thomas Christiansen's Panama, set up in a deep 5-4-1, smothered Modrić, Kovačić and Baturina and very nearly led on 23 minutes, when José Luis Rodríguez met Amir Murillo's cross with a header that thumped the crossbar — Livaković getting a left hand to it, with replays suggesting the ball may have crossed the line. "Panama did not play poorly against Croatia," conceded Costa Rica's Teletica, but the canaleros leave winless after two single-goal defeats, still chasing a first World Cup point.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić was rattled. "This was very difficult and I didn't expect that it was going to be such a difficult match, to be honest. We didn't react the best, and perhaps it could be due to the pressure because we really needed these three points," he admitted. Scorer's teammate Marin Pongračić, making his tournament debut, added: "I'm very happy that we didn't concede. But there's the potential to do better and to kill the game earlier." Croatia, now third, must beat Ghana on Sunday.

Weird & wonderful

After full time, Croatia's players pulled on black T-shirts bearing Modrić's face and a gold "200" — the twin zeros looped together to form the mathematical symbol for infinity — and walked a lap of the pitch in tribute.

The numbers capture a classic smash-and-grab: Panama outshot Croatia 8-6 and dominated set pieces with seven corners to two, yet mustered just one shot on target and only 0.62 xG. Croatia, with 58% possession, were far more clinical — 1.66 xG from fewer attempts — and Budimir converted the tournament's most valuable chance, a close-range header/finish worth roughly 0.78 xG. Panama's downfall was finishing, not creation or organization.