Croatia claimed a hard-fought victory over Panama to stay alive in the race for the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but media outlets across the region were not entirely impressed with the performance.
Although the result gave Croatia three vital points, the main talking point in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia was not the win itself, but the way Zlatko Dalić’s team achieved it.
Regional reports largely agreed that Croatia did not produce one of its best performances, but still managed to secure the result it desperately needed after the defeat to England. Serbian media highlighted goalkeeper Dominik Livaković and striker Ante Budimir as two of the key figures in the win. Livaković made several important saves, while Budimir delivered the decisive goal at a crucial moment.
During the match, Serbian outlets also pointed out that Croatia had plenty of problems against a disciplined and dangerous Panama side. Some live reports even suggested that Croatia had been fortunate after several threatening situations in front of Livaković’s goal.
Bosnian media described the win as narrow but extremely important, stressing that Croatia had done what was necessary to keep its World Cup hopes alive. They also noted that the final group-stage round will decide whether Croatia advances to the knockout phase.
A similar tone could be found in Slovenia, where reports focused more on the importance of the result than the quality of Croatia’s display. The general view was that Croatia, under heavy pressure, showed experience and character to get through a difficult match.
Another major storyline was Luka Modrić, who made his historic 200th appearance for the Croatian national team in Toronto. Alongside Livaković and Budimir, Modrić was once again seen as one of the players whose leadership helped Croatia survive a tense night.
In the end, regional media did not describe Croatia’s win as a dominant performance. Instead, they presented it as a difficult but potentially decisive victory — one that could prove crucial in Croatia’s World Cup campaign.
