UEFA Nations League, League A 4CroatiaCRO 1 2 Full Time SpainESP Venue Stadion Poljud Referee Erik LambrechtsIvan Perii 17 Mikel Merino 61Mikel Merino 88Mikel Merino was the hero for Spain as they came from behind to beat 10-man Croatia 2-1 in Split and clinch their place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals. The world champions were stunned in the 17th minute when a Croatia side humiliated 7-0 by England last time out took the lead in the 17th minute.Ivan Perisic nodded home on the rebound after Igor Matanovic was denied by Unai Simon following excellent work from Mateo Kovacic.Matanovic spurned two chances to double the lead, finding Simon in fine form as Spain struggled to mount a response to Croatias strong start.But Merino was brought on in place of Alex Baena before the start of the second half, and the introduction of the Arsenal man proved an instrumental change by Luis de la Fuente.Merino restored parity just after the hour mark as he calmly slotted into the bottom-left corner from Dani Olmos lay-off.Simon then came to Spains rescue again as he produced a fine save to deny Perisic a second after a dreadful error from Martin Zubimendi as he tried to play out from the back.And fortune continued to smile on La Roja as Croatias goalscorer was given his marching orders 11 minutes from the end of normal time after receiving a second yellow card for stopping a Spain attack by clipping Marc Cucurella from behind.Merino made sure Spain capitalised on their extra man, collecting Zubimendis lofted pass on the turn with an exquisite piece of control before rifling an unstoppable strike beyond Dominik Livakovic.With four wins from four and a nine-point cushion over third-placed Croatia in Group 3, Spain are sure of a place in the last eight wth two games to spare. Croatia Spain 1 Goals 2 28% Possession 72% 10 Total Shots 10 5 Shots on Target 3 3 Shots off Target 3 3 Corners 6 12 Fouls 10 0 Offsides 2 1 Yellow Cards 2 1 Red Cards 0 1 Saves 4 298 Passes 779 234 Passes Completed 698 79% Pass Accuracy 90% Home Away The UEFA Nations League Table UEFA Nations League 2026 World League A Group C #TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostGFGAGDPtsLast 3 1 Spain330010469 W W W 2 England320111386 W W W 3 Croatia3102312-93 L L L 4 Czechia300327-50 L L L Position 1, 2 : Play Offs: Quarter-finals Position 3, 4 : Possible Play-off Upcoming fixtures for Croatia and Spain Upcoming Fixtures : Croatia UEFA Nations League England ENG 19:45 2026-11-12 Croatia CRO UEFA Nations League Croatia CRO 19:45 2026-11-15 Czechia CZE Upcoming Fixtures : Spain UEFA Nations League Czechia CZE 19:45 2026-11-12 Spain ESP UEFA Nations League Spain ESP 19:45 2026-11-15 England ENG Topics Croatia National Football Team Spain National Football Team UEFA Nations League Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read England 3-0 Czechia: Kane marks record-tying cap with brace in routine win Nicholas McGee 6th October, 2026 Croatia vs Spain: Line-ups confirmed as La Roja look for flawless finish Mitch Fretton 6th October, 2026 Tip of the Day: A three-leg Nations League treble Jon Fisher 6th October, 2026 Scotland v Slovenia: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch Jon Fisher 5th October, 2026 Thomas Tuchel hails King Kane as he prepares to equal England appearance record Jon Fisher 5th October, 2026 Croatia v Spain: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch Mitch Fretton 5th October, 2026
