{"id":5690,"date":"2026-06-27T23:36:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5690"},"modified":"2026-06-27T23:36:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:36:47","slug":"vlasic-scores-winner-as-croatia-beats-ghana-2-1-to-reach-world-cup-knockout-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5690","title":{"rendered":"Vla\u0161i\u0107 scores winner as Croatia beats Ghana 2-1 to reach World Cup knockout stage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n

By DAN GELSTON<\/p>\n

PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Croatia earned a spot in the World Cup knockout round, getting goals from Nikola Vla\u0161i\u0107 and Luka Su\u010di\u0107 to beat Ghana 2-1 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Read more Netherlands forward Gakpo\u2019s partner announces their unborn son has passed away in pregnancy<\/a><\/p>\n

Ghana had already clinched a spot in the round of 32 for the first time since 2010.<\/p>\n

Vla\u0161i\u0107 headed home Luka Modri\u0107\u2019s corner in the 83rd minute to score the winner and put Croatia back in contention after it finished third in 2022. The win means Croatia finished second behind England in Group L, with Ghana third.<\/p>\n

Su\u010di\u0107 scored in the 31st minute for Croatia on an absolute rocket from outside the box for his second career international goal. <\/p>\n

Derrick Luckassen scored the equalizer that \u2014- after a brief review \u2014 sent thousands of fans wearing yellow into a frenzy. Luckassen, brother of the Netherlands\u2019 Brian Brobbey, found the bottom right corner in the 73rd minute to make it 1-1 and the first of the five group stage games in Philadelphia where both teams scored.<\/p>\n

Ghana goalie Benjamin Asare briefly kept it a tie game on a diving stop off the top of his hand that sent the ball over the net but failed only a minute later to stop Vla\u0161i\u0107.<\/p>\n

Vla\u0161i\u0107 wagged his tongue and ran toward his teammates with outstretched arms in celebration.<\/p>\n

Read more Ronaldo, Portugal set to learn Round of 32 matchup in World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Su\u010di\u0107 helped Croatia take a 1-0 lead into halftime in a game where a couple of near misses prevented it from building a more comfortable lead. Nikola Vla\u0161i\u0107 bonked one of the posts earlier in the half, and Modric\u2019s cross on a free kick into the box was headed over the bar by Marin Pongra\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n

Ghana seemed poised to tie the game late in the half when Antoine Semenyo beat his man and fired a shot that slid across the Kentucky bluegrass and went just wide of the left post. <\/p>\n

Semenyo was one of the few prominent attackers in this tournament to go without a goal in the first three games. He finished third in the Premier League with 17 goals last season and was one of Manchester City\u2019s best players after it bought him from Bournemouth, yet couldn\u2019t connect in the World up against Panama, England and even Croatia\u2019s backline. <\/p>\n

Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Erling Haaland have dazzled in the World Cup where every game has seemed like a showcase for the tournament\u2019s top stars.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The good news for Semenyo is, there\u2019s at least one more shot for him to bust through for Ghana. <\/p>\n

Read more Magic waive veteran forward Jonathan Isaac to open roster spot<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By DAN GELSTON PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Croatia earned a spot in the World Cup knockout round, getting goals from Nikola Vla\u0161i\u0107 and Luka Su\u010di\u0107 to beat Ghana 2-1 on Saturday. Ghana had already clinched a spot in the round of 32 for the first time since 2010. Vla\u0161i\u0107 headed home Luka Modri\u0107\u2019s corner in the [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-sports","category-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nVla\u0161i\u0107 scores winner as Croatia beats Ghana 2-1 to reach World Cup knockout stage - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5690\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vla\u0161i\u0107 scores winner as Croatia beats Ghana 2-1 to reach World Cup knockout stage - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By DAN GELSTON PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Croatia earned a spot in the World Cup knockout round, getting goals from Nikola Vla\u0161i\u0107 and Luka Su\u010di\u0107 to beat Ghana 2-1 on Saturday. 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