Toronto, June 24 -- Following his side's 1-0 win over Panama in their FIFA World Cup clash, Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic was critical of his side's overall gameplay, saying that he was "not the happiest with the play, especially in the first half". He also added that he did not expect the match to be that difficult.

Croatia, with the help of Ante Budimir, secured a crucial 1-0 victory over Panama in their Group L clash of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Toronto Stadium on Tuesday (local time), keeping their World Cup campaign on track after an opening 4-2 defeat to England in their campaign-opener.

Speaking after the match, as quoted by Reuters, Dalic said, "They were really under a lot of pressure and each and every ball was in the posse...