World Cup 2026 leaderboard update: Croatia edge Panama to rejoin Group L race
Croatia's 1-0 win over Panama moves them to three points in Group L and onto the third-place board, while England and Ghana stay top on four points. This update refreshes Group L, the third-place cut line, scorer and assist boards, and the goalkeeper watch.
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. 23
| 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: 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. 14
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 |
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. 15
| 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. 16
| 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 |
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
References
- 1FOX boxscore: Panama vs. Croatia
foxsports.com
- 2FOX takeaways: Croatia vs. Panama
foxsports.com
- 3FOX World Cup standings
foxsports.com
- 4FOX goalkeeping leaderboard
foxsports.com
- 5FOX goals leaderboard
foxsports.com
- 6FOX assists leaderboard
foxsports.com
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