There is no room for error when you line up for a game like this. They are the two bottom-dwellers in Group L after being beaten in their 2026 openers, with England up top. Hopes of moving on are on the line, and Luka Modric is in for his 200th time out in a shirt. We’ve put together five duels that will make or break it.
Midfield control: the captains set the tone
It all comes down to Luka Modric and Yoel Barcenas. The 40-year-old from AC Milan was 100% with his passing versus England and is now the fourth man in history to hit 200 caps for his country.
Barcenas, 32 and with Mazatlan since 2022, has to do some of the same for Panama. Put a crimp in Modric’s style and he can make the game his team’s to have.
Width and delivery: the flank duel that feeds strikers
You could count on Ivan Perisic to be a factor on the left even in the loss to England. The 37-year-old wing-back was all over the place, crossing into the box and putting in for Petr Musa, while making life hard for the back four.
Then there is Amir Murillo to put him in check. The 30-year-old made three chances happen against Ghana and put in the work with 6 tackles and 7 recoveries. He’s been in good form at Besiktas with 2 goals and an assist in 15. If he can clog up Perisic, you take away a lot of what makes Croatia dangerous.
Penalty-box battles: where margins turn into goals
Cecilio Waterman is there to put them to the test. In 50-odd games for his nation he has 14 to his name. He put in 66 minutes and a shot on target in the Ghana game. With Croatia letting in 22 shots and an xG of 3.2 to England, there is plenty to go on for Panama’s front men.
Josko Gvardiol has to be the one to shut it down. The Man City man was in the thick of it with 47 passes and a host of defensive chores. Muzzle Waterman and you let your midfield get forward.
A second Panama spark vs a Croatian stopper
Ismael Diaz has a way of changing the feel of a match, as he did off the bench with Ghana. He has 18 goals in his 29 years and the kind of movement to rattle a well-organised side on the break.
Josip Sutalo is on the other side of that. The centre-back had nine duels in the last one and the size to back it up. But with a player like Diaz, you have to be sharp; one wrong move and you’re looking at a shot.
At the other end: Musa’s movement vs Cordoba’s timing
Petar Musa is where it is at for Croatia. He made the most of his one shot in the England game for a goal. His time with FC Dallas means he is used to these kinds of pitches and places, which can be an advantage in a close one.
Jose Cordoba is in his way. The 25-year-old from Norwich is no pushover in a duel and has 33 caps for Panama. He will be looking to read Musa before he gets going and hold the near post.
X-factor: Baturina’s long-range threat
We saw a bit of that in the 4-2 with Martin Baturina’s effort from distance. He was in and around things with 41 touches, mostly in the first half, showing where he can be effective in the pockets of space.
His numbers at Como tell the story: 8 and 4 in 34. Let Panama tuck in and you give Baturina the room to be a problem from out there.
So here is where we are with both of them heading into matchweek 2:
– An opening loss for each of them
– England running the show in Group L for now
– A defeat would be hard on any plans for the knockouts
– 200 for Modric
Why these matchups matter now
Forget the stats for a moment. This is about who has the better of the key moments. Modric and Barcenas for the tempo. Perisic and Murillo for the crosses. You need Gvardiol and Sutalo to nix the counters and have Cordoba on top of Musa for the second balls in the area.
Win those and you can turn a must-have into a come-from-behind tale. Lose and you have to start wondering if you are really in this. That is why every tackle and run in these five areas is so important today.
