Spain secured their place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals on Tuesday after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Croatia in Split. World Cup champions Spain extended their unbeaten run to 42 consecutive matches, moving three points clear of England at the top of Group A3 with two games left to play.
Croatia, eager to redeem themselves after a demoralizing 7-0 defeat to England last Saturday, started the match with intensity. After home fans were banned due to previous racism sanctions, the atmosphere was provided by a crowd of children. The hosts signaled their intent early when Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon was forced into a diving save from a Josip Stanisic header. In front of a crowd of children as home fans were banned for racism, and came out determined to make it up to their supporters in Split, slaven Bilic’s Croatia were crushed 7-0 by England on Saturday. Saving well from Josip Stanisic’s header, as Luka Modric’s team impressed in the first half, spain goalkeeper Unai Simon was called into action early on.
The pressure paid off when Croatia opened the scoring. Following an initial save from Igor Matanovic’s strike, Ivan Perisic reacted quickest to head the rebound into the net. Simon later navigated a precarious moment after a loose pass put defender Aymeric Laporte under pressure, though the goalkeeper recovered to deny another goal-scoring opportunity from Matanovic. However Simon saved from Freiburg striker Matanovic’s effort.
Spain coach Luis De la Fuente introduced Mikel Merino at halftime, a tactical shift that ultimately turned the tide. Shortly after teenage sensation Lamine Yamal narrowly missed a chance following a collision with Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic, Merino found the equalizer in the 61st minute with a precise low finish set up by Dani Olmo.
The match turned decisively in the closing stages. Perisic, having already been booked, was shown a second yellow card and sent off with 10 minutes remaining for a foul on Marc Cucurella. Playing against ten men, Spain capitalized on the advantage in the 88th minute when Merino executed a superb turn and powerful strike past Livakovic to seal his brace and the victory.
