Mikel Merino scored twice off the bench as Spain came from behind to beat Croatia 2-1 in Split in the UEFA Nations League. Ivan Perišić gave the hosts the lead before being sent off, and Spain sealed a quarter-final place with two group games left.
Split, Croatia: Matches like this tend to be decided by one change at the right moment. At the Poljud on Tuesday night, Spain’s came at half-time, and it rewrote the evening.
Perišić puts Croatia ahead
Croatia took the lead through Ivan Perišić, and for long stretches of the first half the hosts were the sharper side, with their midfield controlling much of the play according to match reports. Spain, trailing, needed an answer.
Luis de la Fuente supplied it at the interval. He sent on Merino, the Arsenal midfielder, and the balance of the match shifted.
Merino turns it around
Spain levelled in the 61st minute. Dani Olmo set up Merino near the edge of the box, and the substitute finished with composure. Croatia, who had seemed in control, were suddenly on the back foot.
The decisive moment came eleven minutes from time. Perišić, already booked, brought down Marc Cucurella as Spain broke and was shown a second yellow card in the 79th minute. Croatia played the closing stages with ten men, and Merino punished them in the 88th minute with his second goal to complete the comeback.
Afterwards Merino said it had once again fallen to him to score from the bench, and described the squad as a family. It was a fitting description of a team that found its footing when the match was slipping away.
What it means for the group
The win keeps Spain at the top of Group A3 and, according to match reports, secures their place in the Nations League quarter-finals with two group matches still to play in November. For Croatia, it is a painful defeat on home soil, made worse by the loss of their goalscorer to a red card.
The result also shapes the race behind Spain. England beat the Czech Republic 3-0 at Wembley on the same night, and the group’s remaining fixtures will decide who follows Spain into the last eight.
Result: Croatia 1 (Perišić) Spain 2 (Merino 61′, 88′) — UEFA Nations League, League A Group 3, Stadion Poljud, Split. Perišić sent off (79′).
