Panama vs Croatia Preview
Panama struggle to keep the goals out and Croatia are high-scoring. Petar Musa is a serious goal threat and he can find the net in a 2026 World Cup goal-fest.
11 Goals in 14 for Petar Musa
- Panama have seen BTTS in 5 of their last 6 games.
- Croatia’s Petar Musa has scored 11 goals in his last 14 games for club and country.
- Croatia have seen over 2.5 goals in their last 2 matches.
H2H
This will be the first-ever meeting between Panama and Croatia.
Panama Leaky in Defence
Panama have struggled at the back in recent matches. They have failed to keep a clean sheet since a 3-0 win over El Salvador in November 2025.
The Central American side played seven friendlies ahead of the 2026 World Cup and conceded 13 goals.
Panama played two World Cup warm-up games and beat the Dominican Republic 4-2 before a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Canal Men’s inconsistent form continued with a 1-0 loss against Ghana in Group L. Thomas Christiansen’s team allowed 1.31 XG, had four shots on target and conceded a 95th-minute winner.
Croatia Get Amongst the Goals
Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia are in patchy recent form and winless in four of their last nine fixtures. The Vatreni have seen 30 goals in that spell.
Croatia were on a four-match winning streak, scoring 11 goals, from October to March. Back-to-back losses followed against Brazil 3-1 and Belgium 2-0 before a 2-1 triumph over Slovenia.
The European outfit fell to a 4-2 defeat in their 2026 World Cup opener against England. Croatia trailed twice and Martin Baturina and Petar Musa equalised in the first half before Dalic’s side conceded two second-half goals.
Predicted Starting Lineups & Team News
Panama (3-4-3): Orlando Mosquera; Jiovany Ramos, Jose Cordoba, Andres Andrade; Amir Murillo, Carlos Harvey, Yoel Barcenas, Cesar Blackman; Cristian Martinez, Cecilio Waterman, Ismael Diaz
Panama have no injuries or suspensions.
Ismael Díaz was left out of Panama’s starting lineup against Ghana. The winger is likely to return against Croatia after scoring 17 goals in 57 internationals.
Croatia (3-4-2-1): Dominik Livakovic; Josip Sutalo, Luka Vuskovic, Joskov Gvardiol; Josip Stanisic, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic; Petar Sucic, Martin Baturina; Petar Musa
Striker Petar Musa has scored two goals in his last three starts for Croatia and is likely to lead the line.
Luka Modric is expected to start here and make his 200th international appearance.
Zlatko Dalic praised the veteran midfielder’s influence for Croatia and said, “Modric is still the main player for this team, the driving force for the national team, the player who keeps the team running.”