Spain vs Croatia Preview
Spain are a tough side to beat and keep things tight at the back. Lamine Yamal scores plenty of goals and can fire La Roja to a Nations League victory against leaky Croatia.
9 Goals in 7 for Lamine Yamal
- Spain have won to nil in 5 of their last 8 games.
- Spain’s Lamine Yamal has scored 9 goals in his last 7 matches for club and country.
- Spain have kept a clean sheet in their last 2 games against Croatia.
H2H - La Roja on Top
Spain have a 7-3 advantage against Croatia, alongside one draw.
Spain Dominance Continues
World champions Spain are on a 39-match unbeaten run in all competitions, winning 30. La Roja have won seven of their previous eight fixtures, including seven consecutive victories at the 2026 World Cup.
Luis De la Fuente’s outfit conceded one goal at the World Cup and comfortably beat France 2-0 in the semi-final. The southern European side then beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final, dominating the game with 2.29-0.29 XG.
Spain started their Nations League campaign with a 3-2 victory in England on Saturday. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring after two minutes and Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal struck in the second half.
Croatia Lose Against Quality Opponents
Croatia have struggled for winning form recently and have lost four of their previous eight in all competitions. All four defeats have come against teams ranked above Croatia in the FIFA rankings.
The Blazers lost two of their four matches at the 2026 World Cup. They were beaten 4-2 by England in the group stage and lost 2-1 against Portugal in the round of 32.
Zlatko Kranjcar was sacked following Croatia’s World Cup campaign and Slaven Bilic was named as his replacement.
Bilic made a winning start in the Nations League after a 2-1 victory against the Czech Republic. Luka Modric and Marco Pasalic scored in the second half and Croatia had five shots on target.
Predicted Starting Lineups, Squads & Team News
Spain (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Marc Pubill, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal
Goalkeeper Joan Garcia and defender Pedro Porro withdrew from the squad ahead of the England match.
Attacking pair Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal are likely to start after coming off the bench to score against England. Luis De la Fuente praised the duo post-match and said:
“I am fortunate to have these players. Any one of them can come onto the pitch and is ready to try and change the game.”
Goalkeepers: Unai Simon, David Raya, Josep Martínez
Defenders: Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Eric García, Pau Cubarsí, Alex Grimaldo, Dean Huijsen, Marc Pubill, Ivan Fresneda
Midfielders: Rodri, Dani Olmo, Mikel Merino, Fabian Ruiz, Pedri, Martín Zubimendi, Yeremy Pino, Alex Baena, Fermín Lopez, Víctor Munoz
Forwards: Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal, Roberto Fernández, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal
Croatia (4-2-3-1): Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Luka Vuskovic, Joskov Gvardiol, Ivan Perisic; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic; Mario Pasalic, Luka Sucic, Marco Pasalic; Igor Matanovic
Defender Josip Juranovic and centre-back Martin Erlic are unavailable after withdrawing from the squad.
Attacker Marco Pasalic could return to the starting lineup after scoring his first international goal since 2024 against Czech Republic.
Goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic, Dominik Kotarski, Ivor Pandur
Defenders: Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo, Josip Stanisic, Marin Pongracic, Luka Vuskovic, Ivan Smolcic
Midfielders: Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic, Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, Martin Baturina, Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic, Kristijan Jakic, Josip Misic
Forwards: Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Ante Budimir, Marco Pasalic, Petar Musa, Igor Matanovic, Franjo Ivanovic, Dion Drena Beljo