Spain vs. Croatia—Nations League: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

Spain’s UEFA Nations League campaign continues on home soil against Croatia on Tuesday, with a hero’s welcome in store for the world champions.

La Roja are competing on home soil for the first time since Ferran Torres’ extra-time strike stitched a second star on their jersey at MetLife Stadium. Spain eased into the World Cup and discovered its best form when it mattered most, bypassing France with relative ease in the semifinals before grinding out a slender triumph in the showpiece event against a rugged Argentina.

While those familiar with Premier League goings-on have suggested that Tottenham Hotspur have forgotten how to win, the opposite sentiment is true of the Spanish national team. Luis de la Fuente has morphed La Roja into an absolute juggernaut, and its brilliance was certainly put to the test by England in its opening Nations League encounter on Saturday.

Spain rallied after Harry Kane spurned the chance to put the hosts 3–1 up from the penalty spot, as substitutes Álex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal struck to seal a 3–2 victory at Wembley.

This is an all-time great international side, and Croatia requires perfection to topple the world’s best.

Zlatko Dalić left his post as Croatia’s manager after the World Cup, having spent nine years in the role. Slaven Bilić is back at the helm, having enjoyed a successful six-year tenure at the start of his managerial career. His second stint started with a 2–1 victory over Czechia.

Spain vs. Croatia Score Prediction

Spain Triumph on Celebratory Night

The world continues to wonder how on earth you get past this imperious Spain team. England’s blood and thunder certainly concerned De la Fuente’s men, even if the manager insisted his players were seldom flustered at Wembley.

Croatia’s midfielders could certainly take control away from Spain’s passers, but this isn’t a Croatian engine room at the top of its game. Thus, it’ll take something special from the visitors, especially given the lack of firepower in attack, for Spain to succumb on what’s bound to be a celebratory night in Seville.

Spain’s incredible record: The world champions are the team to beat in international soccer. Remarkably, Spain hasn’t lost in regulation since Colombia claimed a 1–0 victory in March 2024—a run of 39 games.

Inevitable Oyarzabal: The understated center forward haunted England again at the weekend, coming off the bench to score the winning goal—just as he did in the final of Euro 2024. Oyarzabal is hardly spectacular, but he has an incredible scoring record for the national team, The Real Sociedad stalwart has scored 18 times in his previous 21 appearances for his country.

Yamal’s Ballon d’Or quest: These matches are ultimately irrelevant, but Lamine Yamal is desperate to get his hands on the Ballon d’Or next month. He’s campaigning like a seasoned politician, and the level of his performance on the field means he’s walking the walk, too.

Prediction: Spain 2–0 Croatia

Spain Predicted Lineup vs. Croatia

The world champions are without Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García for this break due to a knee complaint, and Pedro Porro was also rendered unavailable after suffering an injury in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3–2 defeat to Aston Villa.

Porro’s absence means De la Fuente has to adapt the right side of his defense. Atlético Madrid’s Marc Pubill, an impressive center back by trade, played 90 minutes at right back against England, and he’ll likely retain his spot in Spain’s defense on Tuesday.

With three more fixtures in this window, there should be changes to Spain’s starting lineup further up the pitch. Pedri’s partnership with Rodri is yet to sparkle at club level after the pair struggled to effectively coalesce at the World Cup, but De la Fuente is set to test out the tandem again.

Álex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal’s cameos at Wembley should see them into Tuesday’s team at the expense of Nico Williams and Ferran Torres, respectively.

Spain predicted lineup vs. Croatia (4-2-3-1): Simón; Pubill, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal.

Croatia Predicted Lineup vs. Spain

Dalic may be gone, but there‘s still a distinct sense of familiarity surrounding this Croatia team. Luka Modrić is still going strong at 41-years-old, scoring in Saturday’s victory over Czechia.

Martin Baturina, who impressed at the World Cup and has started the season superbly with Champions League newbies Como, is dealing with an illness, while defender Martin Erlić is absent through injury.

Striker Igor Matanović has reportedly attracted transfer interest from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but the Freiburg hitman could drop out of Bilić’s team in favor of Osasuna stalwart Ante Budimir. Andrej Kramarić is another center forward option for the visitors.

Croatia predicted lineup vs. Spain (4-2-3-1): Livaković; Stanišić, Vušković, Gvardiol, Perišić; Modrić, Kovačić; L. Sučić, P. Sučić, Ivanović; Budimir.

What Time Does Spain vs. Croatia Kick Off?

Location: Seville, Spain

Stadium: Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán

Date: Tuesday, Sept. 29

Kick-off Time: 2:45 p.m. ET / 11:45 a.m. PT / 7:45 p.m. BST

Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)

VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)

How to Watch Spain vs. Croatia on TV, Live Stream

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