PHILADELPHIA, United States
Croatia saw off Ghana 2-1 on Saturday night at the Philadelphia Stadium to claim the runners-up spot in Group L behind England who overcame Panama 2-0 in New Jersey.
Petar Sucic scored Croatia's opener with a powerful shot from just outside the penalty area into the bottom right hand corner of Benjamin Asare's goal.
The strike, coupled with England's 0-0 scoreline with Panama, took Croatia to the top of the pool.
But it was a brief affair. Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored within five minutes of each other mid way through the second half to send England back to the top.
More pressing for Croatia was Derrick Luckassen's equaliser for Ghana in the 76th minute.
The 30-year-old, who was making his international debut, met Ernest Nuamah's in-swinging free-kick and flicked the ball into net past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
At 1-1, Ghana returned to second place. But that moment was short-lived.
Nikola Vlasic headed the ball past Asare in the 83rd minute to restore his side's lead and they held on despite Ghana's late barrage to claim the points and second place.
“It was a nice feeling to score,” Luckassen said. “But I’m a bit disappointed about the loss."
The defeat means Ghana, as one of the eight best third-placed teams, will play in Kansas City on 3 July against Colombia who won Group K following a 0-0 draw with Portugal.
Croatia will be Portugal's next opponents on 2 July in Toronto.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) moved into the knockout stages for the first time as one of the best third-placed teams.
They concluded their Group K campaign with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan to give them four points from their three games.
The DRC will face England on 1 July in Atlanta.
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