In brief
- Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal are taking on Colombia and looking to top Group K.
- Lionel Messi's Argentina will play against Jordan later today.
Croatia beat Ghana 2-1 to claim second spot in Group L on Sunday AEST to secure their passage to the last 32 of the World Cup.
Petar Sucic opened the scoring in the first half before a resurgent Ghana dominated the second period, eventually levelling courtesy of Derrick Luckassen.
But the 2018 runners-up showed their grit to dig out a late winner from the head of Nikola Vlasic as they set up a knockout clash with the second-placed side from Group K in Toronto on Friday.
For a while, Croatia had been going through as group winners until Jude Bellingham gave England the lead in the second half against Panama in the pool's other match on Sunday — Thomas Tuchel's side then emerged 2-0 victors to ensure top spot.
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Ghana were already assured of progressing to the last 32 before the match in Philadelphia kicked off, thanks to their defeat of Panama and stalemate against England in their opening two encounters. It will be their third appearance in the knockout stages of a World Cup.
Sucic got the breakthrough for Croatia just after the half-hour when he took on a speculative effort from 30 yards, which zipped low through the legs of centre-half Luckassen and past a partly-unsighted Benjamin Asare in the Ghana goal.
Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz made a couple of changes at half-time and winger Abdul Fatawu, on in place of the more defensive-minded Elisha Owusu, showed immediate attacking intent as he whipped a shot over the crossbar.
Ghanaian pressure finally told on 73 minutes as Luckassen's cute left-footed finish from a set-piece was eventually validated after a lengthy four-minute wait.
The momentum swung again instantly, however, as Croatia raced up the field with only a superb Asare save denying Mario Pasalic in the 82nd minute.
From the resulting corner Croatia surged back ahead as Vlasic was left in too much space and Luka Modric planted the ball on his head for him to send his side through in second place.
Bellingham, Kane score as England beat Panama
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored second-half goals as England got the job done against Panama on Sunday.
The 2-0 victory at the MetLife Stadium took Thomas Tuchel's team into the last 32 as Group L winners.
Real Madrid star Bellingham got on the end of a Bukayo Saka corner to break the deadlock just after the hour mark on a soggy day in New Jersey.
It was largely uninspiring stuff up to that point, but the opening goal had been coming.
Bukayo Saka's corner from the left dropped into a crowded box, where Bellingham, despite being held by a defender, wrestled enough space to stab a left-footed finish past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.
That was Kane's third goal of the tournament after he netted a brace in the opening 4-2 win over Croatia, and the England captain has now moved clear of Gary Lineker as his country's all-time leading World Cup scorer with 11.
Three of those goals came when England thrashed Panama 6-1 at the 2018 tournament in Russia, but the Three Lions did not have things quite so easy this time against hard-working but limited opponents.
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Five minutes later, Bellingham took charge again on the left and clipped in a cross for Kane, who rose above his marker to head home.
The goal transformed the mood at the New Jersey Stadium, where anxious England supporters who had spent much of the afternoon biting their nails were soon singing along to Bon Jovi during the hydration break.
Topping the section is important, as it means they avoid a possible clash with Spain in the last 16.
Instead they will head to Atlanta for a tie next on 1 July against a third-placed team. Win that, and they will be off to Mexico City in the last 16, possibly to play Mexico, in the Azteca Stadium where they lost to Diego Maradona's Argentina in 1986.
— With reporting by the Reuters news agency and Agence-France Presse.
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