Croatia vs Ghana 2-1 World Cup 2026 recap and lineup context
Pool L at Philadelphia Stadium, Philadelphia. Kickoff is listed as 2026-06-28 05:00 Beijing time and 2026-06-27 17:00 venue local time.
Status
Finished 2-1. This page is generated from the current data worker package updated at 2026-08-01T06:40:31.736Z.
Game intelligence brief
Both teams are profiled here with the confirmed result, scorer timeline when open references provide it, and the same strength model used before kickoff. The model score gap was 27 points, with the stronger preview profile ahead by that margin.
Result recap
Home won 2-1. The public event feed lists 3 scoring actions, starting with Petar Sučić at 31'. The recap keeps the final score beside the strength profile so readers can compare what happened with the preview model, rather than treating the scoreline as an isolated result.
Lineups, injuries and form context
This recap keeps pre-match lineup context beside the final score, so readers can compare the confirmed result with the team profile that existed before kickoff. The page is built for readers searching Croatia vs Ghana lineups, team news, injuries, form, and player context without result-promise language.
| Topic | Croatia | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| Lineups watch | Kovacic Mateo (Midfielder, impact 96); Kramaric Andrej (Forward, impact 96); Modric Luka (Midfielder, impact 96) | Partey Thomas (Midfielder, impact 96); Ayew Jordan (Forward, impact 96); Semenyo Antoine (Midfielder, impact 78) |
| Injury and suspension policy | No unverified injury claims are published. | No unverified injury claims are published. |
| Form signal | 62 | 57 |
| Team-news sensitivity | Watch rotation around Kovacic Mateo and Kramaric Andrej. | Watch rotation around Partey Thomas and Ayew Jordan. |
Agent read and data-quality notes
Croatia are the model lean at 70.7%, but Ghana stay live through venue adaptation can move the match.
| Context quality score | 83 |
|---|---|
| Late-news sensitivity | low |
| Source-backed late signals | 0 |
| Squad completeness | 100% |
| Calibration use | rolling finished-match audit |
Top context drivers
- Team qualityhome · weight 2.8 · ratings+squad+rank
- Chance creation vs defensehome · weight 1 · ratings.attack/execution vs opponent defense/control
- Venue adaptationaway · weight -0.2 · venue climate profile
- Style matchuphome · weight 0.1 · radar tempo/control/defense
Watch points
- humid summer open-air conditions can raise fatigue variance.
- Early scoring would validate the favorite lane faster.
- Lineups, injuries, suspensions, and tactical reports remain neutral until a source-backed signal is added.
- Largest swing factors: Team quality, Chance creation vs defense, Venue adaptation.
- Lineups, injuries, suspensions, and tactical reports remain neutral until a source-backed signal is added.
Scenario notes
- High heat or humidity can lower pressing efficiency and raise late-game variance.
No source-backed late lineup, injury, suspension, or tactical signal is active in the current package.
Scoring timeline
- 31' - Petar Sučić · home · Goal
- 73' - Drik Lvkasn · away · Goal
- 83' - Nikola Vlašić · home · Goal
Side-by-side rating
| Signal | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Team page | Croatia | Ghana |
| Power score | 80 | 53 |
| FIFA live rank | 13 | 65 |
| Attack | 83 | 45 |
| Control | 85 | 43 |
| Defense | 76 | 48 |
| Depth | 88 | 66 |
| Form | 62 | 57 |
| Execution | 85 | 56 |
Tactical keys
- Team quality: Croatia. Radar, ranking, key-player impact and squad experience.
- Chance creation vs defense: Croatia. Compares attack, execution, control and key-player impact against opponent defense, control, depth and current form.
- Venue adaptation: Ghana. humid summer, altitude 12m, open-air conditions.
- Travel and rest: even. Travel load, rest days and rotation depth before kickoff.
- Style matchup: Croatia. Open-air venue keeps fatigue, weather, and game-state volatility in the model.
- Late team news: even. No source-backed late lineup, injury, suspension, or tactical signal is active in the current package.
Key players to watch
- Kovacic Mateo - Midfielder. Impact 96. Caps 113, goals 5.
- Kramaric Andrej - Forward. Impact 96. Caps 116, goals 36.
- Modric Luka - Midfielder. Impact 96. Caps 198, goals 29.
- Partey Thomas - Midfielder. Impact 96. Caps 59, goals 16.
- Ayew Jordan - Forward. Impact 96. Caps 120, goals 34.
- Semenyo Antoine - Midfielder. Impact 78. Caps 34, goals 3.
Useful context links
- Lineups watch and team-news hubBrowse fixture pages built for lineup, injury, suspension, form, and team-news searches.
- Croatia squad and player profilesRole list, caps, goals, impact notes, and team-news sensitivity.
- Ghana squad and player profilesRole list, caps, goals, impact notes, and team-news sensitivity.
- Philadelphia venue and weather notesClimate, roof, altitude, travel, and rest context for this fixture.
- Daily match briefing for 2026-06-28All fixtures, recaps, and share-ready match links for this date.
Related coverage
- England vs CroatiaFinished 4-2 · 06-18, 04:00
- Ghana vs PanamaFinished 1-0 · 06-18, 07:00
- England vs GhanaFinished 0-0 · 06-24, 04:00
- Panama vs CroatiaFinished 0-1 · 06-24, 07:00
- Panama vs EnglandFinished 0-2 · 06-28, 05:00
- All match analysis pagesBrowse every fixture preview and recap.
- Tournament structureGroups, standings, third-place race, and knockout path.
Data notes
Score and event rows come from the current open-reference package. If a reference later revises a scorer or minute, the dynamic page updates from the live worker first. Read the source notes and editorial policy, and site discovery hub for the full page map.