Yamal Brace Fires Spain Past Croatia, England Beat 10-Man Czechia

Lamine Yamal scored twice as Spain continued their perfect start to the UEFA Nations League with a 4-1 victory over Croatia on Tuesday, while England secured their first win of the campaign by defeating 10-man Czechia 2-0.

Spain took the lead inside two minutes at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in Seville, with Yamal curling a low effort beyond Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

Croatia responded in the 28th minute when Dion Beljo headed in Ivan Perisic’s cross to level the score.

Spain quickly regained the advantage, with Marc Pubill heading home from a Yamal cross just three minutes after Croatia’s equaliser.

Yamal then restored Spain’s two-goal advantage in the 63rd minute. The Barcelona forward collected a pass from Pedri inside the penalty area before finishing from a tight angle.

Nico Williams completed the scoring in the 89th minute, securing Spain’s second victory in Group A3.

The result gives Spain six points from their opening two matches and extends their unbeaten run to 40 games. Croatia remain on three points after two fixtures.

In Prague, England defeated Czechia 2-0 after the hosts were reduced to 10 men during the first half.

Pavel Sulc was initially shown a yellow card for a challenge on Elliot Anderson in the 23rd minute, but the decision was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review.

England struggled to break through despite their numerical advantage before finally taking the lead shortly after half-time.

Anthony Gordon headed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross into the bottom corner to give England the breakthrough.

Captain Harry Kane doubled the advantage in the 69th minute after reacting quickly to a loose ball inside the area and finishing calmly.

The victory gave England their first points of the Nations League campaign after they lost 3-2 at home to Spain in their opening match.

The result leaves England second in Group A3 behind Spain on goal difference, while Czechia are still searching for their first points.

Spain will continue their campaign against Croatia away in the next international window, while England are also scheduled to face Croatia in their next fixture.