Yamal scored twice and set a new Spanish record. Spain beat Croatia 4-1 to extend their unbeaten run to 40 games.
Lamine Yamal scored twice and set up another goal as Spain routed Croatia 4-1 in Seville on Tuesday, extending the world champions’ unbeaten run to 40 matches and opening a three-point lead atop their UEFA Nations League group. The 19-year-old Barcelona winger opened the scoring inside two minutes, cutting in from the right after being picked out by Alex Baena and curling a shot past goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
The goal made Yamal the first player to open the scoring within the first two minutes in back-to-back Spain matches, having also scored 104 seconds into Saturday’s 3-2 win over England at Wembley. According to statistician Alexis Martin, known as MisterChip, it marked the first time in Spain’s 106-year footballing history that the national team had scored inside the opening two minutes in two consecutive matches. Croatia equalized in the 28th minute when Dion Beljo headed home an Ivan Perisic cross, but Spain regained the lead three minutes later through Marc Pubill’s first international goal. Yamal added his second in the second half, and Nico Williams completed the scoring late on.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente praised Yamal’s performance after the match, and the result kept Spain perfect through two matches in Group A3 of the 2026-27 Nations League following their win over England. Croatia, managed by Slaven Bilic, made a late substitution, bringing on Franjo Ivanovic for Perisic, but could not find a way back into the contest. Spain’s unbeaten streak now stretches to 40 games, extending one of the longest active runs in international football.
Sources: This report is based on information from ESPN, Get Spanish Football News, beIN Sports and VAVEL.