Lamine Yamal scored a brace as world champions Spain maintained their perfect start to the UEFA Nations League, securing a 4-1 victory over Croatia in Seville on Tuesday. At the same time, Harry Kane found the net as England earned their first win of the campaign by defeating the Czech Republic.
The match at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan was Spain’s first home fixture since winning the World Cup in New York in July. Ahead of kickoff, Spain captain Rodri was presented with the trophy by Sevilla legend and 2010 World Cup winner Jesus Navas before showing it to the home crowd. “We were very excited to bring the trophy here,” Yamal said after the match. “To be able to win the game and bring it home is great.”
Spain’s fans were treated to an early breakthrough as Yamal put the hosts ahead within just 75 seconds. Croatia responded shortly before the half-hour mark when Dion Beljo headed home an Ivan Perisic cross, but the parity was short-lived. Just three minutes later, Atletico defender Marc Pubill restored Spain’s lead by heading in a cross from Yamal. Spain’s supporters did not have long to wait before their side provided further excitement in Andalusia as Yamal fired them into the lead inside 75 seconds.
Yamal, who also scored early in Spain’s 3-2 victory over England at Wembley last week, increased his Nations League tally to three goals in the 63rd minute. He found the net with a precise low strike past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. “Lamine is keen to keep developing and show the world the sort of footballer he is,” Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said of the 19-year-old Ballon d’Or contender. “We’ve enjoyed his magic in the service of the team. In the future, he’ll be much more recognised for what he does and for his contribution to the team’s play.” After also scoring early in Spain’s 3-2 win at Wembley against England last week to kickstart their Nations League campaign, Yamal brought his tally in the 2026/27 edition of the tournament to three as he put Spain two c.
Nico Williams capped off Spain’s dominant performance with a late fourth goal, using a sharp step-over before finding the net with one minute remaining. The victory leaves Spain at the top of Group A3 with six points from two matches, while Croatia are third on three points, trailing second-placed England on goal difference.
In Prague, Thomas Tuchel’s England side recorded their first victory of the tournament by defeating a 10-man Czech Republic 2-0 at the Fortuna Arena, courtesy of second-half goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane. The hosts played a significant portion of the game with ten men after Pavel Sulc was shown a red card in the 23rd minute for a high tackle on Elliot Anderson.
Despite the numerical advantage, England struggled to break down the Czech defence before the break. “We played very professional, second half we stepped up… Deserved victory,” Tuchel told ITV. “Strange to get an early red card, not the best for the team and spectators. It’s an awkward one but we kept going, got a win and that’s what counts.”
The breakthrough came shortly after halftime when Gordon headed home a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was making his first start for England in nearly two years. This marked Gordon’s third goal in three matches for his country, following previous goals against Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals and Spain. Kane then secured the victory in the 69th minute, capitalizing on a loose ball inside the penalty area to fire past goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
Looking ahead, England will travel to play Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday, while Spain will host the Czech Republic in Oviedo. “The next match is important for us against a direct opponent and we want to win,” Tuchel added to the BBC.
In Group B1, Scotland suffered a 3-0 home defeat against Switzerland at Hampden Park after conceding an early red card. In the same group, Slovenia secured second place by beating North Macedonia 2-0 in Ljubljana.
Meanwhile, Portugal national team coach Jorge Jesus addressed media speculation on Wednesday, denying any rift with captain Cristiano Ronaldo after the veteran forward was left on the bench during the side’s Nations League victory against Norway. After Sunday’s 2-1 win in Oslo, Ronaldo walked straight to the dressing room instead of joining his teammates to applaud the travelling supporters.
“There was no incident whatsoever,” Jesus stated in his press conference ahead of Thursday’s match against Denmark in Copenhagen. “Any player — and I was a player myself… when you spend 20 or 30 minutes warming up and then don’t get on… no one is happy about that.”
