Sučić stars as Croatia beats Ghana to advance in World Cup group stage

Petar Sučić’s 31st-minute strike gave Croatia the opening it needed in a 2-1 win over Ghana at Philadelphia Stadium, a result that sent Croatia into the next round as the runner-up in Group L. The finish came after a sequence of short touches between Luka Modrić and Mateo Kovačić, with Kovačić rolling the ball into the center for Sučić to shoot from outside the area and beat the Ghanaian goalpost.

The match, played at 21:00 on 27 June 2026, carried immediate group-stage stakes. Croatia needed the points to secure second place behind England in Group L, and Sučić’s goal changed the tempo of a game that Ghana, already qualified, could not quite take back. Nikola Vlašić finished the job in the 83rd minute, scoring the decisive second goal that turned a narrow lead into a result Croatia could protect through the closing minutes.

Sučić’s contribution went beyond the scoreline. FIFA named the 22-year-old the Player of the Match, and the federation recorded him at 22 years and 245 days old when he scored, making him the second-youngest Croatian to score at a FIFA World Cup. Only Joško Gvardiol has done it at a younger age for Croatia on the tournament stage.

The goal also fit Croatia’s familiar pattern in major tournaments: veteran control in midfield, then a younger finisher arriving to convert the chance. Modrić and Kovačić did the heavy lifting in the buildup, and Sučić supplied the shot that broke Ghana’s shape and put Croatia in command. The result confirmed Croatia’s place in the knockout bracket after the group phase, which ran from 11 June to 19 July 2026, and left Ghana to absorb a defeat that came after it had already booked progress from the group.