Spain arrive at their latest Nations League test with momentum still humming around Luis de la Fuente’s side, while Croatia travel carrying the weight of a record-breaking collapse.
Spain’s unbeaten run rolls on
Spain host Croatia in the fourth round of the Nations League after extending their unbeaten sequence to 41 matches. The world champions defeated the Czech Republic 3-1 on Saturday, again producing a performance built on authority and early attacking intent.
- Lamine Yamal put Spain in front in the sixth minute against the Czech Republic.
- The Barcelona teenager had also struck after two minutes against England.
- He opened the scoring in the second minute when Spain beat Croatia 4-1.
- Spain now face the Croatians once more as De la Fuente’s team seek to keep their long unbeaten record intact.
Yamal’s latest contribution underlined his growing importance to Spain, with the young forward repeatedly giving his side fast starts in recent matches.
Croatia face another difficult night
Croatia’s recent run has moved sharply in the opposite direction. They began with an encouraging 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic, but were then beaten 4-1 by Spain before suffering a devastating 7-0 home loss to England.
- Croatia opened their campaign by overcoming the Czech Republic 2-1.
- Spain then inflicted a 4-1 defeat on Slaven Bilic’s team.
- England followed with a 7-0 win in Croatia, the heaviest defeat in the nation’s history.
The England result eclipsed Croatia’s previous worst loss, a 6-0 defeat to Spain in the 2018 Nations League group stage. No former World Cup finalist in the modern era had previously lost by such a margin.
Bilic has been tasked with rebuilding after Croatia’s celebrated generation, forged through deep World Cup runs, but the scale of the latest setbacks has shown how difficult that transition has become. Spain, by contrast, return to the stage with confidence, an unbeaten run and Yamal’s early bursts of danger at the centre of their threat.
