Mikel Merino came off the bench to inspire Spain to a 2-1 comeback victory over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League, scoring twice to maintain their perfect record in Group A3.
Luis de la Fuente’s team appeared set to suffer their first defeat after Ivan Perisic gave Croatia an early lead, but Merino changed the game after coming on at half-time.
The Arsenal midfielder scored either side of Perisic’s dismissal, with his 88th-minute winner preserving Spain’s 100 per cent record after four Group A3 matches.
Spain were forced to rely on Unai Simon early on, with the goalkeeper producing a superb point-blank save to deny Josip Stanisic’s header in the 13th minute.
Croatia took the lead four minutes later when Simon parried Igor Matanovic’s powerful effort, allowing Perisic to react quickest and head in the rebound.
The hosts nearly doubled their advantage six minutes later after Nikola Vlasic intercepted Simon’s poor pass and set up Matanovic, but the Spain goalkeeper recovered with an excellent save.
Spain struggled to create clear chances before the interval. Mikel Oyarzabal’s header was comfortably saved by Dominik Livakovic, while Lamine Yamal fired wide after being found by a brilliant Pedri pass.
De la Fuente introduced Merino at half-time, and the Arsenal midfielder levelled shortly after the hour mark with a composed finish into the bottom-left corner.
Spain then took control, although Croatia threatened when Martin Zubimendi’s misplaced pass presented Perisic with an opportunity. His effort, however, went straight at Simon.
Croatia were reduced to 10 men when Perisic received a second yellow card for bringing down Marc Cucurella, with VAR confirming the decision.
Spain eventually capitalised on their numerical advantage. Merino brilliantly controlled Zubimendi’s pass inside the box before smashing a left-footed shot into the top-left corner to complete the comeback and secure Spain’s place in the quarter-finals.
Super-sub Merino delivers again
Merino’s introduction proved decisive after Spain managed only 0.57 expected goals from five attempts in the opening half.
The midfielder has established himself as a major impact substitute for Spain, scoring six goals in 16 appearances as a substitute since the start of 2025 — the joint-highest tally by any player for a European national team during that period.
The victory extended Spain’s unbeaten run to 42 matches across all competitions, with 32 wins and 10 draws.
However, Spain have now conceded in each of their last four competitive matches, shipping five goals during that spell — their longest such run since June 2025.
Perisic, meanwhile, had previously contributed to five goals in five games against Spain, with two goals and three assists, before his second-half dismissal.
Croatia also edged the expected-goals battle, recording 1.17 xG from 10 shots compared with Spain’s 1.08 from the same number of attempts, but ultimately finished the match empty-handed.
