Lamine Yamal scores twice as Spain beat Croatia 4-1 in Nations League

Spain beat Croatia 4-1 on Tuesday in Group A3 of the UEFA Nations League. It was Spain's first home game since winning the World Cup. Lamine Yamal scored twice and set up another goal.

Before kick-off, Spain captain Rodri displayed the World Cup trophy on the pitch. According to The Guardian, former Sevilla player Jesús Navas handed the trophy to Rodri. Navas won the World Cup with Spain in 2010. Al Jazeera reported that the match was played in Seville. The Guardian said it took place at a packed Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Andalusia.

How the goals came

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring within the first two minutes. Al Jazeera places the goal in the second minute. The Guardian puts it at 75 seconds. According to Al Jazeera, Alex Baena played the ball into the area, Fermin Lopez dummied it, and Lamine Yamal curled a first-time low shot inside the far post. The Guardian reported that the goal took him to nine international goals in 36 appearances.

Croatia, coached by Slaven Bilic, equalised shortly before the half-hour mark with a header by Dion Beljo. Al Jazeera gives the 28th minute. According to The Guardian, the header came from an Ivan Perisic cross.

Spain retook the lead about two to three minutes later. Marc Pubill headed in a cross from Lamine Yamal. Al Jazeera said the cross came from the right wing into the six-yard box.

Lamine Yamal scored Spain's third goal in the 63rd minute. According to Al Jazeera, he shot from a tight angle after a pass from Pedri inside the box. The Guardian reported that the shot beat Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, his Barcelona teammate, at the near post.

Nico Williams scored the fourth goal late in the match. Al Jazeera gives the 89th minute and says he had come on as a substitute. The Guardian says fewer than two minutes remained and that he scored after a dribble.

Reaction

The Guardian quoted Lamine Yamal as saying: "We were very excited to bring the cup here." He added, according to The Guardian: "To be able to win the game and bring it home is great." The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include comments from Croatia's players or coach.

Context

On the previous Saturday, Spain beat England at Wembley. Lamine Yamal scored the opening goal early in that match. Al Jazeera reported the score as 3-2. It also reported that the win over Croatia extended Spain's European record unbeaten run to 40 matches and kept their record in Group A3 perfect. The reports do not include independent statistics to verify the unbeaten run.

Al Jazeera noted that the fixture repeated the 2023 Nations League final, which Spain won on penalties.

England also won against Czechia. According to Al Jazeera, England won 2-0 in Prague against a Czech side reduced to 10 players and moved above Croatia into second place. The reports do not give full group standings. According to The Guardian, Spain next play Czechia on Saturday.

Analysis

The result adds to a strong run for Spain after their World Cup win, according to the reports reviewed by Vocemundi. Al Jazeera's figure of 40 matches unbeaten would, if accurate, underline their consistency, though the reports do not include independent statistics to confirm it. For Croatia, the defeat and England's reported move into second place may raise the stakes of their remaining group games. Without full standings, the qualification picture cannot be assessed. The Guardian reported that Ballon d'Or voting closed on Monday, so this performance by Lamine Yamal came after votes were cast.

Traceability
Sources (3): Al Jazeera · Anadolu Agency · The Guardian (Sport)
Independent origins: 3 · Perspectives covered: middle-east, state-turkey, west-left
Confirmed: 14 · Reported: 22 · Disputed: 0 · Confidence: high
Review: 3 AI reviewers (Claude, GPT-5.6 Sol, Kimi) · 35/35 claims backed by 2+ reviewers with verified evidence · 0 errors · approved
Drafted: 2026-09-30 01:01 UTC

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.