Spain arrive at Stadion Poljud as overwhelming favorites against a host that was thrashed 7-0 by England at Stadion HNK Rijeka on Saturday. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka each scored twice as Thomas Tuchel’s side tore through a Croatia defense that had already been pulled apart by Luis de la Fuente’s team a week earlier.

Spain won the reverse fixture 4-1 in Seville on 29 September, with Lamine Yamal scoring twice, and followed it with a 3-1 win over Czechia in Oviedo on Saturday. Those results pushed the winning run to ten in all competitions and the unbeaten record to 41 matches, counting back to a 1-0 loss to Colombia in a friendly in March 2024.

De la Fuente used his post-match press conference in Oviedo to shift the attention away from the numbers.

“I think he never stops surprising us. I think all of us,” he said of Yamal. “He has so much talent, so much quality, that we still haven’t seen the best version of Lamine by a long shot.”

Read also: Andres Iniesta names greatest midfielder ever – and it’s not Xavi

Perfect start in Group A3

Spain sit top of Nations League Group A3 on nine points, three clear of England and six ahead of Croatia. They have scored at least three goals in every group game so far, though they are yet to keep a clean sheet.

The visitors arrive without several first-choice attackers. Nico Williams, Ferran Torres and Álex Grimaldo have withdrawn through injury, and Fabián Ruiz left the camp ahead of the birth of his first child. De la Fuente signed a contract extension through 2032 on 21 September, after back-to-back triumphs at Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.

Croatia searching for a response

The pressure on Slaven Bilić is of a different order. Croatia have conceded twelve goals across their three Nations League games and will face Spain without center-back Ivan Smolčić, who has fallen ill with a virus. The hole he leaves is in a defense that was already stretched to breaking point by England.

Bilić returned to the Croatia bench in July after Zlatko Dalić stepped down in the wake of the national team’s exit from the 2026 World Cup. Saturday’s defeat in Rijeka was the heaviest the Croatia men’s team has ever suffered.

Read also: Tuchel plans heavy rotation against Czechia

Kick-off at Stadion Poljud is at 8:45pm local time.

Read also: Report: Liverpool ready to pull plug on big signing after dramatic Anfield downfall