Croatia 1-2 Spain: Merino double seals comeback and quarter-final spot

Spain produced a second-half comeback to beat Croatia 2-1 at the Stadion Poljud in Split, with substitute Mikel Merino scoring twice to seal La Roja's place in the Nations League quarter-finals. The match, played on 6 October 2026, was Croatia's first home game since their 7-0 humiliation by England, and Slaven Bilic's side started brightly. They took a deserved lead in the 17th minute when Igor Matanovic's low drive was parried by Unai Simon, and Ivan Perisic reacted quickest to head home the rebound. It was Perisic's fifth goal involvement in five matches against Spain. Croatia could have doubled their lead when Simon's loose pass was intercepted by Nikola Vlasic, who teed up Matanovic, but the Spanish goalkeeper made amends with a superb save. Spain dominated possession but struggled to create clear chances until Luis de la Fuente introduced Merino at half-time for Alex Baena. The substitute equalised on 61 minutes, sweeping home Dani Olmo's pass with a clinical left-footed finish. Croatia's hopes suffered a blow on 79 minutes when Perisic received a second yellow card for a foul on Marc Cucurella. With two minutes remaining, Martin Zubimendi found Merino in the box, and the Arsenal midfielder turned and fired an unstoppable left-footed strike into the top corner. Spain now have 12 points from four games and are guaranteed a top-two finish, while Croatia remain third on three points. Can Spain maintain their perfect record and go all the way.

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