A far hungrier Croatia than the one that lost to England took the lead against world champions Spain at a full Poljud and had the better of the first half, but went down to ten men late on and lost 2-1 to an 89th-minute Mikel Merino winner.
Croatia met Spain at Poljud on Tuesday night in the fourth round of League A Group 3, the last of four Nations League matches packed into 11 days and by some distance the most loaded.
Slaven Bilić’s side came into it third in the group on three points. A 2-1 win away to Czechia on September 26 was followed by a 4-1 defeat to Spain in Seville and then Saturday’s 7-0 loss to England in Rijeka, the heaviest defeat in Croatia’s history. Twelve goals conceded in three games had turned the Split fixture into a test of character as much as quality, with speculation in the Croatian media that Bilić’s future could depend on the result.
Meanwhile, Spain arrived as world champions and group leaders with a maximum nine points. They had not lost in 41 matches over 90 minutes or extra time, their only setback in that run coming on penalties against Portugal in the 2025 Nations League final. Luis de la Fuente was without Fabián Ruiz, Nico Williams and Ferran Torres, while Bilić had a full squad to choose from.
On Monday, both Croatia coach and captain promised a response. Luka Modrić said the fans would see “a very different Croatia”, while Bilić, back in his home city, called it “the toughest game imaginable” and, in the same breath, the best possible setting to turn things around.
Lineups
Croatia (4-3-3): Livaković; Stanišić, Šutalo, Vušković, Gvardiol; Kovačić, Jakić, Modrić; Vlašić, Matanović, Perišić
Spain (4-2-3-1): Simón; Pubill, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal
Match report
The match kicked off in front of a full Poljud, and the opening minutes went as expected, with Spain seeing more of the ball while both sides felt each other out. Croatia’s first half-chance came in the 6th minute, when Kovačić released Perišić and his shot was blocked behind for a corner.
Croatia grew into the game from there. In the 13th minute Stanišić forced the first save of the night with a header that Simón kept out, and the follow-up effort went wide.
The breakthrough came in the 17th minute, from an excellent counter-attack. Kovačić carried the ball forward and fed Matanović on the right. Simón parried his shot, but the rebound fell to Perišić, who headed in to make it 1-0!
By the 19th minute Croatia had five attempts on goal to Spain’s none, with the world champions looking flat and short of ideas. It should have been 2-0 in the 23rd minute. Simón made a mistake and Matanović found himself with the goal at his mercy, but his close-range shot was saved by the Spanish goalkeeper, who made up for his own error.
Nearing the half-hour mark, this was a Croatia barely recognizable from the side that lost its last two matches. Spain took more control in the minutes that followed, though without creating anything concrete, and Croatia’s defense held without trouble.
The visitors’ first real threat came in the 42nd minute, when Cucurella whipped in a dangerous cross and Oyarzabal arrived a fraction too late. Croatia answered a minute later, as Kovačić’s shot was blocked by Cubarsí for another corner. Oyarzabal came up just short again from a cross in the 44th minute.
One minute of stoppage time was added, and Croatia went into the break 1-0 up.
Spain came out with more purpose after the restart. In the 53rd minute Yamal found himself through on goal with only Livaković to beat, but he tried to go round the goalkeeper, lost control of the ball and the chance was gone. Two minutes later a fine cross picked out Olmo, who could not quite reach it with his head.
The pressure told in the 61st minute. After a sustained spell in Croatia’s half, Olmo slipped the ball to Mikel Merino, who had a simple finish from close range to make it 1-1.
Bilić made a double change in the 66th minute, with Petar Sučić replacing Modrić and Beljo coming on for Matanović. Five minutes later Baturina came on for Vlašić, while Fermín replaced Olmo, who left to warm applause from the Poljud crowd he knows from his Dinamo days.
Yamal went close in the 76th minute with a well-struck shot that took a touch on its way behind for a corner. Croatia responded straight away and nearly restored their lead, but Simón saved Perišić’s effort in the 77th minute.
A minute later Perišić was gone. The goalscorer was shown a second yellow card for what looked an ordinary foul, and although VAR checked the incident, the decision stood, leaving Croatia to see out the match with ten men.
Poljud turned on Cucurella as the match wore on, with loud whistles from the stands every time he touched the ball. In the 88th minute Bilić made another change, bringing on Mario Pašalić for Kovačić, with Pašalić taking the captain’s armband.
Then came the blow. In the 89th minute Zubimendi played through Croatia’s first line and found Merino in the penalty area. He turned and fired into the near corner, Livaković could not keep it out, and Spain had turned the match around to lead 2-1. Four minutes of stoppage time were added, but as hungry as Croatia was, they couldn’t find the equalizer. The match finished 2-1 for Spain.
Slaven Bilić spoke after the match:
“It was a great game. I’m disappointed we didn’t take at least a point. If you isolate just this game, we were excellent. The players did what was expected of them. We did everything we could to beat the world champions. We had a few clean chances and the red card, which is a shame. But I am very satisfied with the team, how they played, pressed, their aggression, everything.”
“I enjoyed our character and quality. Spain is better than us, we have to be real about that. But in the first half, we were better and had better chances than them. In the second half, we fell a bit. We have players that do not play enough at thier club, in these positions. We also had the virus that swept through the team with about 10 players not feeling adequate.”
“We can’t erase anything that happened during this cycle. We will remember them as examples. This was by far the most stressful period in my career.”
