Croatia had barely touched the ball. Ninety seconds into the night in Seville, Lamine Yamal had already scored, and the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan did the rest. Spain won 4-1, took control of Group 3 in League A, and made a side full of experienced internationals look like they had turned up to the wrong fixture.
The strange part is that this is becoming a habit. Opta noted afterwards that Spain have now scored inside the opening two minutes in consecutive matches, against England and then against Croatia, and that they had not managed that in any competition since at least 2004. Teams usually need twenty minutes to find out what a game is going to be. Spain are deciding it before the away supporters have sat down.
Yamal either side of the hour
His first was the second-minute goal that set everything in motion. His second came on 63, by which point Croatia had spent half an hour chasing a game they briefly thought they were back in: Dion Beljo equalised on 28, Marc Pubill put Spain ahead again on 31, and whatever Croatia had built in those three minutes went with it. Nico Williams made it four in the 89th.
Two goals in a Nations League tie is not, on its own, remarkable. How routine it looked is.
Yamal has spent two years being described as a prospect. There is a point at which that word stops applying, and on this evidence it passed a while ago.
Croatia never got the ball back
Spain finished with 63.7% of the possession and 16 shots. Those numbers understate it slightly, because possession figures flatten out over ninety minutes and this match did not feel flat at any stage. Croatia's problem was not that they defended badly. It was that they could not keep hold of the ball long enough to stop defending.
Beljo's goal was the one clear sign of what Croatia can still do when they get a foothold, and it went away almost immediately. Three minutes later Pubill made it 2-1 and the shape of the evening was settled again.
Where the group stands now
Spain sit top of League A Group 3 on six points from two wins, having beaten England before this. Croatia are the side who now have to go to England on 3 October with their margin gone. Spain play Czechia the same day.
There is a version of this group where everybody takes points off everybody and it runs to the final round. That version looks a good deal less likely than it did a week ago.
Match facts: Spain 4-1 Croatia, Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, Seville, 29 September 2026. Goals: Yamal 2, Beljo 28, Pubill 31, Yamal 63, Williams 89. Spain possession 63.7%, 16 shots. Spain lead League A Group 3 on six points. Next: Spain v Czechia and England v Croatia, both 3 October.
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