Lamine Yamal struck twice and provided an assist as Spain cruised to a 4-1 victory over Croatia in Tuesday’s Nations League match, their first home appearance since winning the World Cup.
The 19-year-old shared the goals with Marc Pubill and Nico Williams, helping Spain extend their unbeaten streak to 40 games following June’s final victory against Argentina in the United States.
After scoring inside two minutes during Saturday’s Wembley triumph over England, Lamine Yamal needed only 75 seconds to find the net against Slaven Bilic’s team in Andalusia. His left-footed effort brought his international record to nine goals from 36 appearances.
Croatia drew level shortly before the 30-minute mark when the 6ft 4in Dion Beljo headed in Ivan Perisic’s cross.
Spain regained the advantage two minutes later, with Pubill heading home from an accurate Lamine Yamal delivery. The teenager scored again in the 63rd minute, beating his Barcelona teammate and Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic at the near post. With less than two minutes remaining, Athletic Bilbao winger Williams completed the scoring after a sharp dribble and composed finish.
La Roja will face the Czech Republic next in Saturday’s Group A3 fixture.
Lamine Yamal’s performance further enhanced his Ballon d’Or credentials. Voting closed on Monday, with the winner due to be revealed on 26 October.
Before kick-off at a packed Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Spain captain Rodri presented the World Cup trophy to the crowd after receiving it from Sevilla great Jesus Navas, who won the tournament with Spain in 2010.
“We were thrilled to bring the trophy here,” Lamine Yamal said. “Winning the match and bringing it home makes the occasion even better,” he added.
Elsewhere in Group B1, Slovenia secured a 2-0 win over North Macedonia thanks to goals from Sandi Lovric and Aljosa Matko.
Moldova drew 1-1 at home with the Faroe Islands, while Slovakia defeated Kazakhstan 2-1. Iceland earned a 3-0 victory in Luxembourg, and Estonia recorded a 1-1 draw away to Bulgaria. Finland and Belarus, meanwhile, finished goalless in Helsinki.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
