Croatia vs Spain: after the 0–7, Ivan Perišić has to stop Lamine Yamal in Split
UEFA Nations League · League A, Group C · Matchday 4
Croatia
20:45
Spain
- Kick-off
- Tue 6 Oct · 20:45 CEST · 19:45 UK
- Venue
- Stadion Poljud, Split
Our call
Spain win
Our score: Croatia 1–3 Spain
Lamine Yamal against Ivan Perišić on Croatia's left, behind a defence that has let in 11 in two games.
Medium confidence: we'd expect Spain to win about half the time. Logged 5 Oct, 09:30 CEST and never edited. See Updates.
In 30 seconds
- Croatia lost 0–7 to England in Rijeka on Sat 3 Oct, the heaviest defeat in their history.
- Spain have won all of their last ten games, and Luis de la Fuente rested Mikel Oyarzabal for the 3–1 against Czechia.
- Croatia will score in Split, but Yamal will make sure it is not enough.
The story
Slaven Bilić did not hide after Rijeka. "I'm ashamed too," he said after England scored seven against his side on Sat 3 Oct. He has been back in charge for a month, and the last two games have cost his side 11 goals, the first four of them to Spain in Seville on Tue 29 Sep. Now Spain come to Split, and a crowd at Poljud that will want a reaction.
Luis de la Fuente's world champions rarely slip. Spain have won their last ten games, the World Cup final against Argentina among them, and against Czechia in Oviedo de la Fuente made nine changes and still won 3–1, with Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Mikel Merino scoring. Oyarzabal, Martín Zubimendi and Dean Huijsen were among the regulars rested in Oviedo.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 9 |
| 2England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
| 3Croatia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -9 | 3 |
| 4Czechia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 0 |
England play Czechia at Wembley on the same evening. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
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A Spain win takes them to 12 points. A Croatia win would lift them to 6, and level with England if England lose at Wembley, putting the group back in play.
Croatia's left side is where we think this is decided. Ivan Perišić played left-back in Rijeka and is still Croatia's outlet down the left, so he will want to get forward. Every time he does, Yamal gets the space behind him. Bilić has until Tue 6 Oct to find an answer.
Form
Croatia
- Latest · 3 OctL0–7v ENGNL
- 29 SepL1–4at ESPNL
- 26 SepW2–1at CZENL
- 2 JulL1–2v PORWC
- 27 JunW2–1v GHAWC
A win in Czechia on Bilić's return, then two heavy defeats.
Spain
- Latest · 3 OctW3–1v CZENL
- 29 SepW4–1v CRONL
- 26 SepW3–2at ENGNL
- 19 JulW1–0v ARGWC final aet
- 14 JulW2–0v FRAWC semi
Won the World Cup, then three Nations League wins. They have conceded in each of the three.
Latest on the left. WC games were at neutral grounds; NL = Nations League. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Team news
Croatia
Checked Sun 4 Oct 17:15 CEST: no new absence found in tportal or gol.dnevnik.hr since the England game.
Spain
- OutPedro Porro: not in the squad, with Eric García, Alejandro Grimaldo, Nico Williams and Ferran Torres. Spain's depth has covered every absence so far.(reported)
Line-ups: confirmed about an hour before kick-off. They'll go under Updates. We don't publish guessed XIs.
Checked Sun 4 Oct 17:15 CEST: tportal and gol.dnevnik.hr for Croatia; Yahoo Noticias, elgoldigital and iusport for Spain. Reported = one outlet, not yet confirmed by the federation.
Two of Croatia's scorers in their last ten games were missing from the XI in Rijeka, and neither is injured. Marco Pašalić came off the bench and forced a save from Pickford. Dion Drena Beljo and Ante Budimir were left out of the squad to rest them, with Croatia playing four games in 11 days, according to tportal and gol.dnevnik.hr. For Spain, Mikel Oyarzabal was rested against Czechia and Mikel Merino started on the bench there, then came on to score the third in the 89th minute.
Spain 4-3-3 · v Czechia, 3 Oct
- Raya
- FresnedaLe NormandLaporteFran García
- OlmoRodriPedri
- Yamal (key battle)R. FernándezBaena
- Musa
- BaturinaSučićIvanović
- KovačićModrić
- Perišić (key battle)GvardiolVuškovićStanišić
- Livaković
Croatia 4-2-3-1 · v England, 3 Oct
Who to watch
The duel to watch: Lamine Yamal against Ivan Perišić. Yamal starts on the right, straight at Croatia's left-back, and has 5 of Spain's goals in their last ten games. Perišić has to decide whether to stay and defend him or keep pushing forward, and he cannot do both against Spain.
Croatia
Luka Modrić
Started in Rijeka and is level with Pašalić on goals in Croatia's last ten.
- 2
- goals, Croatia's last 10
Spain
Mikel Oyarzabal
Rested on 3 Oct, so fresh for Split, where Spain will want their regular centre-forward back.
- 6
- goals, Spain's last 10
Goals in each side's last ten games, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Head-to-head
Croatia have not beaten Spain since 2018: three Spain wins and a final Spain won on penalties.
Result for Croatia
- 29 Sep 2026Spain v CroatiaNations League, Seville4–1L
- 15 Jun 2024Spain v CroatiaEuro, Berlin3–0L
- 18 Jun 2023Croatia v SpainNations League final, Rotterdam · aet, lost 4–5 on pens0–0D
- 28 Jun 2021Croatia v SpainEuro, Copenhagen · aet, 3–3 after 903–5L
- 15 Nov 2018Croatia v SpainNations League, Zagreb3–2W
The newest five of the eight meetings we hold, back to 2012. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Numbers that matter
Goals scored: Croatia 12.0, Spain 24.0 (higher is better)
Spain score twice as many.
Goals conceded · fewer is better: Croatia 25.0, Spain 5.0 (lower is better)
Seven of Croatia's came in one game, against England.
Clean sheets: Croatia 1.0, Spain 6.0 (higher is better)
Croatia's one was a 1–0 against Panama at the World Cup.
Last ten games each, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Our call, explained
We have Spain winning 3–1. Spain do not need to be at their best to beat this Croatia side: they won in Seville, then won again in Oviedo with a rotated side. Croatia's problem is behind the ball, and Yamal against Perišić is the flank Spain will keep going back to. We do expect Croatia to score. They have done it in eight of their last ten games, a home crowd in Split will push them on, and Spain have conceded in each of their three Nations League games.
The case against us. A wounded Croatia, with Modrić and Kovačić in midfield, may sit deep and make it a tight, scrappy night that Spain struggle to open up. Or Spain, already on 9 points, may rotate again and lose some of their sharpness. If Spain do drop points, a draw is more likely than a Croatia win.
Updates
Nothing has changed since we published. Next: news from either camp, the starting XIs about an hour before kick-off, then the final score.
Data note: results, scorers and line-ups from our database (API-Football), read 4 Oct 08:40 UTC; team news and match details from tportal, gol.dnevnik.hr, Yahoo Noticias, elgoldigital, iusport and ABC Color.