World Cup 2026 leaderboard update: Croatia edge Panama to rejoin Group L race

Croatia turn Group L into a three-team fight

Croatia have a pulse again. Ante Budimir's 54th-minute finish, assisted by Josip Stanišić, gave Croatia a 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto and moved them from last place to third in Group L. FOX's boxscore had the match even on shots on goal at 3-3, with Croatia ahead on possession at 58% and expected goals at 0.94 to Panama's 0.38. 1

The standings effect is bigger than the scoreline. England and Ghana still lead the group on four points, but Croatia are now only one point back and have moved onto the third-place board with three points. Panama remain fourth on zero points after two matches. 2 3

Match included in this update	Final score	Standings effect	Source
Panama vs. Croatia	Croatia 1-0 Panama	Croatia move to 3 points and third in Group L; Panama stay on 0 points.	1 / 3

Group L standings card — Self-made Group L card based on FOX standings after Croatia 1-0 Panama. 3

Group L: Croatia take the pressure off, Panama stay bottom

The top of the group did not change, but the qualification math did. England's +2 goal difference keeps them first, Ghana remain second at +1, and Croatia are now third on three points despite a -1 goal difference. 3

Rank	Team	MP	W-D-L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Source
1	England	2	1-1-0	4	2	+2	4	3
2	Ghana	2	1-1-0	1	0	+1	4	3
3	Croatia	2	1-0-1	3	4	-1	3	3
4	Panama	2	0-0-2	0	2	-2	0	3

Budimir was the scorer, but Dominik Livaković was the reason Croatia finished the job. FOX listed him with a clean sheet and three saves in the match, and his tournament line now reads one clean sheet, 10 saves and four goals allowed across two appearances. 1 4

All-group snapshot

Here is the compact board across all 12 groups. The order shown is the current FOX standings order within each group. 3

Group	Current order, with points	Source
A	Mexico 6; South Korea 3; Czechia 1; South Africa 1	3
B	Canada 4; Switzerland 4; Bosnia and Herzegovina 1; Qatar 1	3
C	Brazil 4; Morocco 4; Scotland 3; Haiti 0	3
D	United States 6; Australia 3; Paraguay 3; Türkiye 0	3
E	Germany 6; Ivory Coast 3; Ecuador 1; Curacao 1	3
F	Netherlands 4; Japan 4; Sweden 3; Tunisia 0	3
G	Egypt 4; Iran 2; Belgium 2; New Zealand 1	3
H	Spain 4; Uruguay 2; Cape Verde 2; Saudi Arabia 1	3
I	France 6; Norway 6; Senegal 0; Iraq 0	3
J	Argentina 6; Austria 3; Algeria 3; Jordan 0	3
K	Portugal 4; Colombia 3; DR Congo 1; Uzbekistan 0	3
L	England 4; Ghana 4; Croatia 3; Panama 0	3

Third-place race

Croatia's win is the main movement below the automatic places. They jump into third among third-place teams, while DR Congo hold the eighth and final qualifying lane in this standings snapshot. Czechia, Ecuador and Bosnia and Herzegovina sit just below the line on one point. 3

Third-place rank	Team	MP	GD	Pts	Source
1	Sweden	2	0	3	3
2	Scotland	2	0	3	3
3	Croatia	2	-1	3	3
4	Algeria	2	-2	3	3
5	Paraguay	2	-2	3	3
6	Cape Verde	2	0	2	3
7	Belgium	2	0	2	3
8	DR Congo	1	0	1	3
9	Czechia	2	-1	1	3
10	Ecuador	2	-1	1	3
11	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	-3	1	3
12	Senegal	2	-3	0	3

Third-place cut line card — Self-made third-place cut line card based on the FOX standings snapshot. 3

Player leaderboards

The Golden Boot top five did not move in this update. Messi still leads on five goals, with Haaland and Mbappé one goal behind. Budimir's winner was his first goal of the tournament, so it changes Croatia's group position rather than the scoring race. 5 1

Golden Boot rank	Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Source
1	Lionel Messi	Argentina	2	5	0	5
2	Erling Haaland	Norway	2	4	0	5
3	Kylian Mbappé	France	2	4	0	5
4	Jonathan David	Canada	2	3	0	5
5	Deniz Undav	Germany	2	3	2	5

Alexander Isak and Michael Olise still share the assist lead on three. Stanišić's assist for Budimir matters in Group L, but it does not yet put him into the tournament's top creator tier. 6 1

Assist rank	Player	Team	GP	Assists	Goals	Source
1	Alexander Isak	Sweden	2	3	1	6
2	Michael Olise	France	2	3	0	6
3	Chris Wood	New Zealand	2	2	0	6
4	Julio Enciso	Paraguay	2	2	0	6
5	Martin Ødegaard	Norway	2	2	0	6

Player leaderboard card — Self-made player leaderboard card based on FOX goals and assists tables. 5 6

Goalkeeper watch and player power ranking

The clean-sheet lead is still a three-way tie: Emiliano Martínez, Unai Simón and Raúl Rangel have two clean sheets each. Livaković now joins the one-clean-sheet tier and has the highest save total among the keepers listed in the top ten by clean sheets. 4

Keeper	Team	GP	Clean sheets	Saves	Goals allowed	Source
Emiliano Martínez	Argentina	2	2	1	0	4
Unai Simón	Spain	2	2	2	0	4
Raúl Rangel	Mexico	2	2	3	0	4
Dominik Livaković	Croatia	2	1	10	4	4

Power rank	Player	Why he is here	Source
1	Lionel Messi	Five goals in two matches keep him clear in the Golden Boot race.	5
2	Erling Haaland	Four goals through two matches keep Norway level with France on points in Group I.	5 / 3
3	Kylian Mbappé	Four goals and France's +5 goal difference keep him in the top tier.	5 / 3
4	Cristiano Ronaldo	His two-goal Portugal match still carries Group K after Portugal's 5-0 win over Uzbekistan.	5 / 3
5	Dominik Livaković	Three saves against Panama protected Croatia's first win and moved them into the third-place race.	1 / 3

Watch next

Group L now has the cleanest final-day tension: England and Ghana are on four points, Croatia are on three, and Panama are chasing from last. Group K can still shift when Colombia and DR Congo complete their next match, because Portugal lead on four points but Colombia have played one fewer match. 3