Lamine Yamal delivered another outstanding performance as Spain marked their return to home soil with an impressive 4 1 victory over Croatia in Seville.
Playing in front of their supporters for the first time since lifting the World Cup in July, Spain produced a confident display that extended their remarkable unbeaten sequence to 40 matches. Rodri presented the World Cup trophy to the crowd before kick off, setting the stage for another memorable evening.
Yamal quickly became the centre of attention. The 19 year old Barcelona forward needed only 70 seconds to break the deadlock, finding the net with a composed left footed effort. His early strike continued a fine run of form after he had also scored inside two minutes during Spain’s 3 2 victory against England at Wembley on Saturday.
Croatia responded in the 28th minute when Dion Beljo headed home an accurate delivery from Ivan Perisic.
However, parity lasted only three minutes. Yamal produced an excellent cross that Marc Pubill converted with a powerful header to restore Spain’s advantage.
Fermin Lopez almost added another before half time when his attempt struck the woodwork. Spain continued to control proceedings after the interval, and Yamal grabbed his second goal by beating Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic at the near post.
Nico Williams completed the scoring with a sharp individual run followed by a composed finish, sealing a dominant night for the world champions.
The result leaves Spain with six points from their opening two Group A3 fixtures, placing them three points ahead of England and Croatia.
Spain will next face the Czech Republic on Saturday at 19:45 BST, while Croatia welcome England earlier that day at 17:00.
