世界杯：布迪米尔关键破门，老练克罗地亚一比零小胜巴拿马，巴拿马出局

Croatia edged Panama one-nil — a rather tense and rather pragmatic match.

What made it tense: the score was nil-nil for most of the match, and only in the second half did Croatia seal the win with a single goal.

Let's first get to know these two teams.

Croatia comes from Europe, a strong team in world football with deep heritage.

In the most recent World Cups they've performed superbly and once went a long way.

This team has a number of hugely experienced veteran players.

They combine seamlessly and read the game well; the more crucial the battle, the steadier they tend to be.

Their opponents Panama come from Central America, well behind Croatia in both fame and overall strength.

But Panama's players are tenacious in style and never give up easily, a team with real fight.

For both teams this was a must-win match, because whoever lost would likely be eliminated and end their World Cup early.

For all these reasons, from the start both sides played especially cautiously.

Both teams secured their defence first, not daring to push up, afraid of being caught and conceding first.

And so, for a long stretch the match stayed nil-nil.

There weren't many goals on show, but in fact both sides were very tense, each attack and each defensive moment shaping the match's direction.

Panama defended quite tenaciously, dropping back to protect their goal, making it hard for Croatia to break through for a while.

A few times Panama even created a little threat on the counter, keeping Croatia wary.

However, Croatia were, after all, the more experienced and stronger team.

They were patient, not impatient for success, calmly controlling the match and slowly probing for flaws in the opposing defence.

Finally, in the second half, Croatia got a precious chance.

Their player Budimir seized that rare chance and calmly finished, helping Croatia take a one-nil lead.

The moment it went in, Croatia's players and fans celebrated wildly, because they all knew how much this one goal weighed in a match like this.

With both teams having few chances, this goal was extremely crucial.

In such a tense match, whoever breaks the deadlock first seizes a huge advantage.

After taking the lead, the experienced Croatia immediately set up to defend solidly.

They knew that in this kind of match, holding a one-goal lead often means taking the whole match.

And the trailing, must-win Panama had no choice but to go all out and pile forward, launching wave after wave of attack at Croatia's goal.

Panama's fans in the stands cheered hopefully again and again, longing for an equaliser.

However, Croatia's defence was just as solid, using their rich experience to defuse Panama's repeated charges.

Minute by minute the time slipped away, and Panama never managed to breach the opposing goal.

In the end, the match finished one-nil, with Croatia having the last laugh.

For Croatia, this was a hugely important victory.

With these three points, they kept their hopes of qualifying from the group alive.

But for Panama, it was a rather cruel result.

Losing this match meant they were eliminated early, their World Cup journey coming to an end.

Still, Panama need not be too dejected.

As a relatively weaker team, just reaching the World Cup is already an achievement.

What's more, in this match they faced a world-class power like Croatia, so the loss was hardly a surprise.

They fought to the very last moment, fearless against a strong opponent, and that tenacious spirit still won the respect and applause of many neutral fans.

After the match, the discussion centred on this game.

Some praised Croatia as a worthy, experienced power: the more crucial the battle, the calmer they stay and the last to laugh.

Others felt for Panama, that they played well and only lacked a little luck and experience in the end.

Actually, this is exactly football's appeal, and its cruelty too: sometimes a single goal is enough to decide a match, even a team's fate.

For this very reason, on a stage like the World Cup, every goal and every chance is all the more precious — and it's this cruelty that makes victory so precious.

Okay, that's the whole story of Panama against Croatia, see you next time.