Croatia vs Spain Preview: A Record 7-0 Three Days On, a 41-Match Unbeaten Run, and Modric Asked to Lift Poljud
Three days after the heaviest defeat in their history, Croatia have to stand up and do it again. England won 7-0 in Rijeka on Saturday, a result Slaven Bilić apologised for and described as a total blackout, and it is already being filed alongside the 6-0 Spain inflicted in September 2018 as the two nights this generation would rather forget. The visitors at Poljud on Tuesday are Spain: world champions, three wins from three in this group, and unbeaten in 41 matches inside 90 minutes or extra time. Croatia have had eleven days to prepare for four games. This is the fourth.
What Saturday Left Behind
The 7-0 in Rijeka was not a narrow game that got away. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored twice each, Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon once each, and Croatia finished the night with the worst result any Croatia side has produced. Bilić did not duck it. He apologised to the country, said the responsibility was his, and called the performance indefensible and a total blackout. Luka Modrić, speaking on Monday, said the players had talked it through because they could not pretend nothing had happened, and promised a very different Croatia for the supporters who travelled to Split.
There is context that does not excuse the scoreline but does explain some of the legs. Croatia played that match behind closed doors under a UEFA sanction, with the crowd made up largely of invited schoolchildren. A virus has also gone through the squad: Bilić named Modrić, Martin Baturina and Josip Stanišić as affected, reporting said Modrić played with a fever, and Branimir Smolčić missed Sunday training with an illness of his own. Nine of the eleven who started in Rijeka did recovery work only the following day.
Add it up and Croatia have conceded twelve goals in three matches in this group, which is the second-worst defensive record in the competition. They have three points, one more than nobody, from a 2-1 win away to Czechia, a 4-1 defeat in Seville and Saturday. Croatian media have spent the last two days speculating that Bilić, four competitive matches into his second spell, could step down if his side fail to beat Spain.
Spain: 41, and Still Rotating
Spain’s run is the number that frames everything. Thirty-one wins and ten draws across 41 matches inside 90 minutes or extra time, a sequence that includes the World Cup final win over Argentina in July. The one blemish in that stretch — the 2025 Nations League final — came on penalties, so it does not count against the run. They have also gone 16 Nations League matches without losing in regulation time.
They got there while short-handed. Ferran Torres withdrew with a left ankle problem and Carlos Espi was called up in his place; Nico Williams has gone back to his club injured; Alejandro Grimaldo was hurt in the warm-up before the Seville game and Eric García in the warm-up before the one at Wembley; Pedro Porro never joined the camp at all. Fabián Ruiz left on Saturday for the birth of his son. Spain trained at Las Rozas on Monday and flew to Split with a 24-man squad.
Luis de la Fuente’s answer has been to rotate hard. He made nine changes for the 3-1 win over Czechia in Oviedo — Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Rodri doubled it on 35 minutes for his first Spain goal in more than two years, Jiří Sláma pulled one back on 69, and Mikel Merino settled it at the death after Ladislav Krejčí had been sent off — and handed first caps to Ivan Fresneda and Roberto Fernández. The coach said it was all about protecting the footballers, and admitted that when you make many changes you cut the rhythm. Spain still had 69 per cent of the ball, 18 shots to five and 1.99 expected goals to 0.49.
Yamal has scored in all three group matches. He is 19, he has twelve goals in his last nine appearances for club and country, and there is an open debate in the Spanish press about whether he starts at Poljud. De la Fuente and Dani Olmo faced the media in Split on Monday evening.
Head-to-Head: The Last Five
| Date | Competition | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 2026 | Nations League A, in Seville | Spain 4-1 Croatia | Spain |
| 15 Jun 2024 | European Championship, group B | Spain 3-0 Croatia | Spain |
| 18 Jun 2023 | Nations League final | Croatia 0-0 Spain | Spain (5-4 on penalties) |
| 28 Jun 2021 | Euro 2020, round of 16 | Croatia 3-5 Spain | Spain (after extra time) |
| 15 Nov 2018 | Nations League A | Croatia 3-2 Spain | Croatia |
Spain are unbeaten in the last four meetings; Croatia’s last win was the 3-2 in November 2018. Two months before that, Spain won 6-0 in Elche — the result that stood as Croatia’s record defeat until Saturday. Croatia have conceded two or more in five of their last six against this opponent.
Four Things to Watch
1. A real crowd, for the first time in this window
Rijeka was played behind closed doors with the attendance made up almost entirely of children under 14 admitted under a disciplinary exemption. Poljud is not. Tickets have been on general sale, Modrić has publicly asked the country to get behind the team, and Bilić’s side get the noise they did not have on Saturday. Either that lifts them or it exposes them; there is not much room in between after a week like this one.
2. Modrić at 41, again
He started in Rijeka and came off before the hour. Bilić has already said he will not play all four matches in this window, so whether he starts at Poljud is wide open — and reporting on Monday suggested he would, in what would be his 206th cap. He also pointed out something uncomfortable at the press conference: the players with the most energy in the squad have been the oldest ones — Modrić, Mateo Kovačić and Andrej Kramarić.
3. Spain’s front line is being rebuilt on the fly
No Ferran Torres, no Nico Williams, no Grimaldo, no Porro, and Fabián Ruiz away. De la Fuente has still produced three wins and ten goals, and the players who came in — Fresneda, Fernández, Fermín López, Víctor Muñoz — have done the job. The interesting question is which version turns up in Split: the one that started in Seville or the one that started in Oviedo, because they are not the same eleven.
4. Five Croatians one card from missing Wembley
Luka Vušković, Marco Pašalić, Josip Mišić, Petar Sučić and Marin Pongračić are all on one yellow card. A second booking on Tuesday rules that player out of the trip to England in November. Nobody is suspended for this match, but against a side that wins this many free kicks in the final third, it is a live consideration for every one of them.
Predicted Lineups
Neither side had confirmed a starting eleven at the time of writing. The Croatia selection follows the projection published by RotoWire; goal.com prefers Ivan Smolčić at right-back and Franjo Ivanović up front, and a fourth outlet keeps Ivan Perišić wide with Igor Matanović through the middle. The Spain selection also follows RotoWire; goal.com starts Iván Fresneda and Víctor Muñoz, and another outlet has Robin Le Normand alongside Dean Huijsen with Álex Baena on the left. Treat both teams as provisional.
Croatia
- Dominik Livaković
- Josip Stanišić, Josip Šutalo, Luka Vušković, Joško Gvardiol
- Mateo Kovačić, Josip Mišić
- Marco Pašalić, Martin Baturina, Ivan Perišić
- Dion Beljo
Alternatives: Ivan Smolčić at right-back, Luka Modrić in midfield, Petar Sučić or Luka Sučić in the attacking line, Franjo Ivanović or Igor Matanović up front. Illness has affected Modrić, Baturina, Stanišić and Smolčić during the window; Branimir Smolčić missed Sunday training. No suspensions.
Spain
- Unai Simón
- Marc Pubill, Pau Cubarsí, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella
- Martín Zubimendi, Pedri, Fermín López
- Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Álex Baena
Alternatives: Iván Fresneda at right-back, Robin Le Normand at centre-back, Víctor Muñoz or Dani Olmo in the front three, David Raya in goal. Unavailable: Ferran Torres (ankle), Nico Williams, Alejandro Grimaldo, Eric García and Pedro Porro; Fabián Ruiz is away for the birth of his son. Carlos Espi was called up as cover.
Key Battles
Lamine Yamal against Joško Gvardiol
Yamal has scored in every match of this group campaign and goes to the byline on the right, which is exactly where Gvardiol has been asked to defend for club and country for the past three seasons. It is the cleanest one-on-one on the pitch. If Gvardiol forces him inside, Croatia’s block holds; if he does not, Spain’s full-back overlaps into the space all night.
Modrić and Kovačić against Zubimendi and Pedri
Croatia’s case has always started in midfield and this week has not changed that. Bilić’s complaint was not about talent but about energy, and the two oldest players in his squad have been the ones supplying it. Spain’s three are the most settled unit in the group and have had a week to rest between matches. Whoever wins the second ball in the middle third decides whether this is a contest or an exercise.
Kit Note: Croatia and Spain, 2026/27
Croatia’s rail runs from the current home shirt — still the most recognisable pattern in international football — through the away shirt and the kids home kit, to the 1998 home shirt from the summer that set the standard every Croatia side since has been measured against. Spain’s rail carries the current home shirt, the two-star away shirt, the away shirt with Yamal’s name and number, the kids home kit with the same print, and the long-sleeve home shirt. Everything below is live in the shop and priced the same across every size, so browse the rails.
Croatia — the current home and away shirts, the kids home kit, and the 1998 home shirt from the summer this squad is still measured against
Swipe to browse 4 Croatia shirts
Spain — the current home shirt, the two-star away shirt, the away shirt with Yamal on the back, the kids home kit with the same name, and the long-sleeve home shirt
Swipe to browse 5 Spain shirts
