Croatia vs Spain prediction 06.10.2026 | Nations League

Croatia return to Split after suffering a humiliating 7:0 defeat against England in Rijeka on Saturday.

Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka both scored twice, while Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers added further goals in Croatia's heaviest-ever defeat.

That result came only four days after the Vatreni slipped to a 4:1 reversal against Spain at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. Bilic’s side have now leaked 11 goals in just two games and confidence is sure to be drained following the remarkable setback against England. 

Croatia began their campaign with a 2:1 victory against Czechia, but their defensive collapse across the past week leaves them third in Group A3 with three points.

Those defensive issues have been long-standing. The Croats leaked 29 goals in their last 13 games, with just one clean sheet kept in that period. 

Under-pressure boss Bilic is expected to make changes after Saturday's disastrous display. Andrej Kramaric, Igor Matanovic and Mario Pasalic are among those pushing for recalls.

Josip Juranovic and Martin Erlic are expected to remain unavailable through injury.

Spain travel to Split after maintaining their perfect Nations League record with a deserved 3:1 victory against Czechia on Saturday.

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring before Rodri doubled Spain’s advantage in the first half. Czechia pulled one back after the interval, but substitute Mikel Merino secured the points late on.

Rangers forward Ryan Naderi was denied a goalscoring debut for the visitors when VAR intervened to rule out his second-half effort.

Luis de la Fuente made nine changes to the side that beat Croatia last week, yet the world champions remained in control for much of the contest.

The World Cup winners have collected nine points from their first three group fixtures, scoring ten goals in victories against England, Croatia and Czechia.

Over a longer period, Spain have won each of their last ten games since their goalless draw against Cape Verde at the World Cup. La Roja averaged 2.4 goals per game in those victories.

Head coach De la Fuente could restore several regulars to his first XI. Unai Simon, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella, Fabian Ruiz and Mikel Oyarzabal are among those pushing for recalls.

Nico Williams, Ferran Torres and Alejandro Grimaldo have withdrawn from the squad through injury. Joan Garcia and Eric Garcia are also unavailable.