WORLD CUP BETTING PREVIEW - PANAMA VS CROATIA

World Cup

2026-06-23 - Panama vs Croatia

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Panama v Croatia
Football: World Cup Group L Match Day 2
Tuesday 23rd June 2026 - Kick Off 7pm (EST)
British Time Midnight

---

Panama

Some of the criticism thrown at Panama after the very narrow loss to Ghana is that the team were settling for a first ever World Cup point, rather than trying to earn three points that could set them up for a place in the Last 32. One late break ended up seeing Panama punished and they will need to dig in and find a big performance if they are going to earn a maiden World Cup point against either England or Croatia.

There was very little between Panama and Ghana in the opening fixture in this section with the former having more shots and the bigger chances. However, the finishing touch just deserted Panama when those opportunities came up and another defeat on Tuesday would mean elimination from the tournament before the final fixture.

Panama had scored at least once in each of the final 5 friendly games played before the 2026 World Cup Finals began and that will be the disappointment after the 0-1 defeat to Ghana. A point would keep Panama alive in this Group, but that would likely mean needing to beat England in the final game to have any hope of a best third place finisher spot into the Last 32.

The squad will be utilised, but conditions were not incredibly sapping in the first fixture and Panama likely begin with the same eleven.

Predicted Line Up: Mosquera, Ramos, Cordoba, Andrade, Murillo, Blackman, Harvey, Barcenas, Martinez, Rodriguez and Waterman (3-4-3)

Croatia

A lot of the attention will have been on the difficult outing for Luka Modric as the veteran failed to complete 60 minutes and gave away the Penalty that set England on their way to a 4-2 win over Croatia. However, some of his team mates will also have to question their own level of performance and Croatia are going to need to bounce back very quickly if they are going to earn a spot in the Knock Out Rounds.

Being overwhelmed by England in the second half suggested that some of the experienced Croatian players had 'jumped the shark', but they will be more confident when facing Panama and Ghana to round out the Group. Despite the difficulties in that opening fixture, it should be remembered that Croatia reached the last Nations League Quarter Final and comfortably Qualified for the World Cup.

Croatia had a mixed set of friendly results in the lead up to the World Cup, but they were facing some of the top nations that are competing at the 2026 Finals. There is clearly room for improvement from the opening performance, but this squad and manager Zlatko Dalic know how to work through tournament football and that could be key.

Predicted Line Up: Livakovic, Stanisic, Gvardiol, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Modric, Kovacic, Baturina, Marco Pasalic, Perisic and Musa (4-2-3-1)

Head to Head

This is the first competitive meeting between these nations.

Prediction

The 4-2 defeat to England would have felt like a body blow for Croatia and the experienced heads in the squad who struggled to contain a vibrant attack.

However, losing to one of the favourites in the Group Stage is not going to decide Croatia's tournament and this squad can rally together and make sure they pick up the points needed to progress from the section.

Two years ago they struggled at the Euro 2024 tournament and were dumped out in the Group Stage, but Croatia will feel the likes of Panama and Ghana represent a drop in class compared to what they are used to facing.

Panama played well at times against Ghana, but the team perhaps lacked belief in the final third and the late defeat will have sickened a team who thought they may have picked up the first World Cup points for the nation. It is also a defeat that leaves Panama in a precarious position in the tournament with another meaning the end of their time, but it could be a struggle to find the right balance in this one.

Encouragement can be taken from the poor defensive performance that Croatia produced, but that was against an England attack and replicating that sounds beyond Panama's level.

Zlatko Dalic will use his experience to just make sure his Croatia team are better placed at both ends of the pitch and the likelihood is that they can bounce back from that loss to England.

Faroe Islands did score against Croatia in the World Cup Qualifying Group, but that was one of just four goals conceded in 8 Qualifiers.

The feeling here is that Croatia will find a way to largely contain the Panama attack in this Group fixture and backing the European nation to work to a win with a clean sheet looks an appealing price.

The Pick :

Panama 0-2 Croatia

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Croatia Win to Nil at 2.45 with Cloudbet