The Croatia national team reserved its place in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, after achieving a valuable victory over the Ghana national team with a score of 2-1, in the match that brought them together in the third and final round of the group stage.
The Croatian national team succeeded in opening the scoring in the 31st minute through Petar Sučić, who took advantage of a perfect pass from Mateo Kovacic put the ball into the net, giving his country the advantage at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Ghana national team returned to the atmosphere of the match after Derek Lucassen equalized in the 73rd minute, following a successful follow-up of a ball into the penalty area following a direct free kick, before the video assistant referee technology confirmed the validity of the goal.
The Croatian national team refused to settle for a draw, and continued its pressure until it was able to score the winning goal. In the 83rd minute, when Luka Modric executed a perfect corner kick, which was converted by Nikola Vlasic with a wonderful header into the net, giving his country three valuable points.
With this victory, the Croatia national team raised its score to 6 points, sealing its qualification to the round of 32 after finishing the group stage in second place, while the balance was frozen. Ghana's national team has 4 points, but it also succeeded in reaching the next round after qualifying among the list of the best third-placed teams.