Croatia defeated Panama 1-0 on June 23 in a Group L match to claim their first points of the 2026 World Cup and eliminate Panama from the tournament [1, 2, 3, 4]. Ante Budimir scored the lone goal in the 54th minute by converting a deep cross while alone at the back post [1, 4]. Croatia captain Luka Modric reached his 200th international cap during the match, becoming only the second European player to reach this milestone [1, 4]. Panama needed a win or draw to progress but lost all three group games, repeating their 2018 World Cup record [3]. Panama coach Thomas Christiansen praised his team’s performance despite elimination, saying, "I think we need to congratulate them and be proud of how Panama has played against a world power such as Croatia" [3].
In Group K, Colombia secured qualification to the Round of 32 by defeating DR Congo 1-0 on June 23 [5, 6, 7, 8]. Daniel Munoz scored the decisive goal in the 76th minute following a pass from Juan Fernando Quintero [5, 6, 8]. Munoz, named Player of the Match, emphasized the team effort: "Just because I scored the goal doesn't mean I'm the star. We're all the stars. We all earned these three points. This is a family, and here, the star is Colombia" [8]. Colombia now leads Group K with 6 points from two wins [5, 6].
DR Congo drew 1-1 against Portugal in their opener but lost to Colombia, leaving them with 1 point and the need to win against Uzbekistan on June 27 to advance [5, 6, 9, 10]. Coach Sebastien Desabre said the team will take a more attacking approach for the must-win final group game: "We know what we have to do in order to advance... victory is the only option" [11]. Striker Simon Banza expressed confidence, stating, "We are in very good shape, we are waiting for the next game. They are a very good team... But we are the same" [9]. Uzbekistan, having lost their first two matches and conceded 8 goals, must win convincingly to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams [10, 11].
Before the final Group L matches on June 27, Ghana and England lead with 4 points each, Croatia sits on 3 points, and Panama on zero [12]. A draw between Croatia and Ghana will be enough for both teams to progress. Croatia's coach Zlatko Dalic expressed concern about his aging squad and described their defeat to England as "the worst set-piece defending in his tenure" [12]. The final group fixtures on June 27, including Ghana vs Croatia and DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, will decide the remaining knockout stage spots [12, 10, 11].
