EXPLAINER
World champions Spain host Croatia in matchday two of the UEFA Nations League, with Yamal facing Modric.
Who: Spain vs Croatia
What: UEFA Nations League 2026-27, Group A3 match
Where: Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, Seville, Spain
When: Tuesday, September 28, at 8:45pm (18:45 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 15:45 GMT.
A battle of generations awaits on Tuesday, as 19-year-old superstar Lamine Yamal faces 41-year-old midfield maestro Luka Modric in Spain’s Nations League clash with Croatia.
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The meeting in Seville comes after both sides made a winning start to their respective campaigns – Spain staged a 3-2 comeback win over England in London, while Croatia defeated Czechia 2-1 in Prague.
World champions Spain, who are on a 39-game winning streak – a record for a European team – are bidding for their second Nations League title after their 2023 success.
As the finalists last year, La Roja face a tricky task in matchday two against a well-balanced Croatian side, led by the evergreen Modric, who was the architect of their opening victory.
What is the UEFA Nations League?
The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.
In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure, which features promotion and relegation.
When did Spain and Croatia last meet?
They last played against each other at the UEFA Euro 2024 in a group game, with Spain beating Croatia 3-0, thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal.
Spain vs Croatia: Head-to-head
- Matches: 11
- Spain wins: 6
- Croatia wins: 3
- Draws: 2
Spain vs Croatia: Form guide
(Last five games, latest results first)
Spain: W-W-W-W-W
Croatia: W-L-W-W-L
Who are the top players to watch?
Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo (Spain): Yamal, already a world-famous footballer at 19, needed only two minutes to find the net against England before wrapping up a man-of-the-match quality performance. The Barcelona winger is enjoying a strong start this season, with his seven goals rated joint-second-highest in La Liga. His club teammate, Olmo, also played a role in Spain’s latest victory with a useful assist; watch out for him.
Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic (Croatia): Even at 41, Modric is showing no signs of slowing down after the captain scored the opener in Croatia’s first win in coach Slaven Bilic’s first game back in charge. Two decades on from his international debut, Modric still pulls the strings in midfield and cannot be overlooked. Apart from him, fans should watch out for another experienced player, Ivan Perisic, who set up the winner in the last game and has two goals and an assist for PSV Eindhoven this season.
What have the coaches said?
Luis de la Fuente (Spain coach): “What this generation of footballers is achieving has great merit. They are constantly striving to improve. The statistics speak for themselves. It is incredibly difficult what Spain are doing. We will approach the next match against Croatia as if it was our last. These players always want to keep improving.”
Slaven Bilic (Croatia coach): “Luka Modric … We can only be proud that we live in his era and have the privilege to watch him play. At his age, he is incredible and the only one who can do what he’s doing, you know what I mean.”
Team news and predicted lineups
Spain
Goalkeeper Joan Garcia is sidelined until early October due to a knee injury, while defender Eric Garcia, who withdrew from the squad after feeling discomfort in his knee in the last game’s warm-up, has been replaced by Robin Le Normand.
Probable Spain XI: Unai Simon; Marc Pubill, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams; Ferran Torres
Croatia
Left winger Martin Baturina and right-back Josip Juranovic are out with illness, while centre-back Martin Erlic is injured.
Probable Croatia XI: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol, Ivan Perisic; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic; Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic, Franjo Ivanovic; Igor Matanovic
Spain vs Croatia: TV channel, livestreaming
- Spain: RTVE PLAY
- Croatia: gol
- United Kingdom: Prime Video UK
- United States: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX
- India: Sony Sports Network
- Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS
- South Africa: DStv Stream
You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA’s official broadcaster listing.
[ Peace News Desk ]