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Panama vs Croatia Preview - Croatia to bounce back in World Cup

Ralph Staniforth

Editor

Last updated: 22 Jun 2026

Ralph Staniforth 22 Jun 2026

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Croatia favored due to attacking strength and in-form Petar Musa.
Both teams often see BTTS and over 2.5 goals in recent games.
Panama’s inconsistent defensive record could lead to a high-scoring match.

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Croatia’s Petar Musa has scored 11 goals in last 14 games for club and country (Getty)

Panama vs Croatia Predictions

Croatia may have lost their opener to England but they showed plenty of attacking ability. Against a Panama side that concedes plenty, I am backing Croatia.

Panama vs Croatia Predictions
Head to Head
Panama Form
Croatia Form
Panama vs Croatia Predicted Lineups & News

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.

Head to Head

This will be the first-ever meeting between Panama and Croatia.

Panama Form

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 Form

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.

Panama vs Croatia Predicted Lineups & 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.”

Verdict

Panama v Croatia

Panama and Croatia often see BTTS and over 2.5 goals. Another high-scoring result is likely and in-form Petar Musa can strike again in the 2026 World Cup.

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Ralph is from South Africa and studied Sports Science post school at ETA (Education Teachers Academy) in Cape Town.

He has always had a great passion for sport and this led him into the world of sports journalism, while coaching on the side. Since 2012 Ralph has worked as a journalist and covered many topics from business to sport.

Over the last seven years he has interviewed numerous top rugby and cricket players and coaches in South Africa.

Ralph has been betting on sports for the last ten years. He’s knowledgeable on numerous topics including football, rugby, cricket, tennis and golf.

He supports Manchester United (football), Cheetahs (rugby), Knights (cricket) and has a newly found appreciation for Dominic Thiem on the tennis courts.