Brilliant Lamine Yamal Leads Spain to Dominant 4-1 Victory Over Croatia in UEFA Nations League

Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring the team's third goal on Tuesday [Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters]

Lamine Yamal delivered a stellar performance with two goals as World Cup winners Spain pushed their impressive European record unbeaten run to 40 matches. La Roja kept their 100 percent record intact in UEFA Nations League Group A3 following a commanding 4-1 victory at home against Croatia on Tuesday, while England secured a 2-0 away victory against 10-man Czech Republic in Prague to move past Slaven Bilic’s squad into second place.

Meeting again after the 2023 Nations League final where Spain triumphed on penalties, Croatia bounced back from an early deficit to level the score but ultimately could not stop a Spanish squad coming off a 3-2 triumph over England at Wembley on Saturday.

Before Spain played their initial home fixture since claiming the World Cup in July, Rodri showcased the trophy on the pitch. The festivities in Seville persisted when Lamine netted the opening goal in the second minute, mirroring his early strike against England. Alex Baena delivered a pass into the box that was left by Fermin Lopez, allowing Lamine to curl a low, first-time effort past the far post.

Although Dominik Livakovic pushed away a subsequent attempt from Baena as Spain aimed to secure an early advantage, Croatia responded through Dion Beljo, who headed in an equalizer in the 28th minute.

Spain regained their advantage in under three minutes. Lamine sent a cross from the right wing into the six-yard box, where Marc Pubill met it with a powerful header past Livakovic.

Marc Pubill scores Spain’s second goal [Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters]

In the 63rd minute, Lamine notched his second and Spain's third goal by taking a pass from Pedri inside the area and firing into the net from a difficult angle. Late in the match, substitute Nico Williams sealed the triumph by scoring in the 89th minute.

Nico Williams scores Spain’s fourth goal [Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters]