UEFA Nations League

FT Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Spain WWWWW 2
–
Croatia WLWLL 1
1st2ndT
ESP022
CRO101
Stadion Poljud · 32,690 att.

Match Report

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Spain rally to beat Croatia, unbeaten run up to 43 games

Spain preserved a 2½-year unbeaten streak by rallying to beat Croatia 2-1 thanks to a clutch second-half double from super-sub Mikel Merino on Tuesday in Split.

Full story at ESPN →

Team Stats

10
Fouls
12
2
Yellow Cards
1
0
Red Cards
1
2
Offsides
0
6
Corner Kicks
3
4
Saves
1
72.1
Possession
27.9
10
SHOTS
10
3
ON GOAL
5
0.3
On Target %
0.5
0
Penalty Goals
0
0
Penalty Kicks Taken
0
697
Accurate Passes
234
778
Passes
298
0.9
Pass Completion %
0.8
4
Accurate Crosses
2
20
Crosses
7
0.2
Cross %
0.3
27
Long Balls
47
16
Accurate Long Balls
20
0.6
Long Balls %
0.4
4
Blocked Shots
2
8
Effective Tackles
5
10
Tackles
7
0.8
Tackle %
0.7
5
Interceptions
11
11
Effective Clearances
21
11
Clearances
21

Highlights

01:00 Hislop: International break has been 'too much' for players Watch on ESPN

Head to Head

ESP leads series 4-1

Lineups

CRO · 4-5-1

  1. 1Dominik LivakovicG
  2. 5Luka VuskovicCD-L
  3. 6Josip SutaloCD-R
  4. 4Josko GvardiolLB
  5. 2Josip StanisicRB
  6. 8Mateo KovacicCM-L
  7. 10Luka ModricCM-R
  8. 18Kristijan JakicAM
  9. 14Ivan PerisicLM
  10. 13Nikola VlasicRM
  11. 20Igor MatanovicF

ESP · 4-3-3

  1. 23Unai SimónG
  2. 14Aymeric LaporteCD-L
  3. 5Pau CubarsíCD-R
  4. 22Marc CucurellaLB
  5. 12Marc PubillRB
  6. 16RodriCM
  7. 20PedriLM
  8. 10Dani OlmoRM
  9. 21Mikel OyarzabalF
  10. 15Álex BaenaLF
  11. 19Lamine YamalRF

Timeline

  1. 17' Goal! Croatia 1, Spain 0. Ivan Perisic (Croatia) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.
  2. 22' Ivan Perisic (Croatia) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
  3. 45' Substitution, Spain. Mikel Merino replaces Álex Baena.
  4. 61' Goal! Croatia 1, Spain 1. Mikel Merino (Spain) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Dani Olmo.
  5. 65' Delay in match (Spain).
  6. 65' Delay in match (Croatia).
  7. 65' Luka Modric (Croatia) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
  8. 65' Delay over. They are ready to continue.
  9. 65' Delay over. They are ready to continue.
  10. 65' Substitution, Croatia. Dion Beljo replaces Igor Matanovic.
  11. 66' Substitution, Croatia. Petar Sucic replaces Luka Modric.
  12. 66' Rodri (Spain) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
  13. 71' Substitution, Spain. Martín Zubimendi replaces Rodri.
  14. 71' Substitution, Spain. Fermín López replaces Dani Olmo.
  15. 71' Substitution, Croatia. Martin Baturina replaces Nikola Vlasic.
  16. 78' Substitution, Spain. Víctor Muñoz replaces Lamine Yamal.
  17. 79' Second yellow card to Ivan Perisic (Croatia) for a bad foul.
  18. 79'
  19. 81'
  20. 87' Substitution, Spain. Yéremy Pino replaces Pedri.
  21. 88' Substitution, Croatia. Mario Pasalic replaces Mateo Kovacic.
  22. 88' Goal! Croatia 1, Spain 2. Mikel Merino (Spain) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Martín Zubimendi.
  23. 90'+2' Víctor Muñoz (Spain) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

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