Spain defeated Croatia 4-1 in Seville and recorded a second success in Group A3 of the Nations League. Lamine Yamal was at the heart of the victory with two goals and an assist, and the hosts collected 6 points after the first two rounds. Croatia remained with 3 points.
The match at the “Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan“ stadium started with a quick goal. Yamal opened the scoring in the second minute after a long Spanish attack. Croatia equalized in the 28th minute, when Dion Bello headed in Ivan Perisic's cross.
Spain took the lead again just three minutes later. Yamal crossed to Marc Pubil, who headed home for 2-1. In the 63rd minute, the Spanish striker scored his second goal of the match, and Nico Williams made the final score in the 89th minute.
De la Fuente praises Yamal
After the match, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente emphasized not only Yamal's goals, but also his attitude towards the team.
„His modesty makes him greater. He always puts his brilliance at the service of the group“, said de la Fuente.The Spanish coach described his team's performance as strong, but pointed out that the team could have decided the match before the break. Spain started with five changes from their 3-2 win over England in the first round.
Bilic: Spain is the better team
Slaven Bilic acknowledged the hosts' superiority and said the Croatian team had not shown their usual strengths.
“There is no doubt that Spain is the better team, but we made it easy for them”, said the Croatia coach.Bilic added that the team's defensive structure had not worked well enough. He left Luka Modric out of the starting line-up, and the captain came on in the second half to a standing ovation from the Seville crowd.
Next matches
Spain will host the Czech Republic on 3 October in the third round of the group stage. Croatia will play England on the same day. Group A3 also includes England and the Czech Republic, with the top two teams after the end of the league phase advancing to the quarterfinals.
Sources: BNT, Cadena SER, El Pais