Croatia hold off Ghana to finish second in group as both teams advance to knockout stage

[p]These two nations collided in Philadelphia knowing that a draw would suit both of their agendas in this final Group L clash. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ghana/nNBjHale/"]Ghana[/a] had already sealed a place in the knockout stages, while Zlatko Dalic’s men knew a point would also see them progress as one of the eight best third-placed sides.[/p][p]It was therefore unsurprising that a cagey opening ensued, with neither side barely getting out of first gear inside the opening 15 minutes. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vlasic-nikola/4ryWOtME/"]Nikola Vlasic[/a] had the game’s first meaningful chance when his drilled long-range effort clipped the outside of the post, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pongracic-marin/OSXlKkv9/"]Marin Pongracic[/a] headed over from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/modric-luka/bZWyoJnA/"]Luka Modric[/a]’s free-kick. [/p][p]However, the game sprung into life [b]when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kovacic-mateo/4f084TL7/"]Mateo Kovacic[/a] teed up [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sucic-petar/dMS6iFY2/"]Petar Sucic[/a] to fire home a superb long-range strike into the bottom corner. [/b][/p][p]It was a goal which propelled [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/croatia/K8aznggo/"]Croatia[/a] to the top of the group, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/panama/OWKqbCfi/"]Panama[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a] locked in a scoreless draw 97 miles up the road in New Jersey. The Black Stars were offering very little going forward, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/semenyo-antoine/r1Gz1yPk/"]Antoine Semenyo[/a] came close to restoring parity when his angled strike went just wide of the far post.[/p][image alt="Match Stats" id="71ee906d-71c3-4cc8-94a5-e27ea1a4360e" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="6a18e2c8-56f1-437c-adbd-9cddd02f29ef" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Carlos Queiroz brought on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fataw-issahaku/bZdUUhdL/"]Abdul Fatawu[/a] ahead of the restart, and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leicester/KrrdAMyI/"]Leicester City[/a] winger almost had an immediate impact when his speculative left-footed strike flew just over the bar.[/p][p]Developments elsewhere would come into play just past the hour mark, with Croatia slipping down into second place after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bellingham-jude/QNvlPm7s/"]Jude Bellingham[/a]’s opener for England against Panama. And when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kane-harry/v5HSlEAa/"]Harry Kane[/a] doubled their advantage five minutes later, this was starting to look like a battle for second place.[/p][p][b]Ghana restored parity but were made to endure a lengthy VAR check when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/luckassen-derrick/vkkxcAG9/"]Derrick Luckassen[/a] ghosted in at the far post to meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nuamah-ernest/rsiloRPO/"]Ernest Nuamah[/a]’s free-kick with a clinical first-time finish[/b], with the officials determining that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sibo-kwasi/vg9tJMbL/"]Kwasi Sibo[/a] did not impact the play from an offside position. It was a brief deserved reward for an improved second-half display, moving Queiroz’s men up into second spot.[/p][image alt="Momentum" id="e829394f-8931-4ef2-b3ad-51705980b2fc" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="ad921053-21ed-4dc1-8145-c82cc260a7c9" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]But Croatia would re-establish their slender lead [b]when Vlasic met Modrić’s corner with a downward header[/b], meaning Ghana were level for only 10 minutes. It was a goal which was ultimately enough for Dalic’s side to claim all three points and set up a meeting with the second-placed team in Group K in Toronto on Thursday night.[/p][p]Meanwhile, Ghana go through in third, and will face the winners of that group on Friday evening in Kansas City.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sutalo-josip/2aSozh6l/"]Josip Sutalo[/a] (Croatia)[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/croatia-K8aznggo/ghana-nNBjHale/?mid=6mbbuBSb"][b]View all of the match stats on Flashscore.[/b][/a][/p]