Croatia 1-2 Spain: Merino inspires comeback as world champions seal Nations League quarter-final berth

Spain secured a spot in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals after coming from behind to defeat Croatia 2-1 in Split. Ivan Perisic gave Croatia the lead in the 17th minute by scoring on a rebound after Unai Simon saved Igor Matanovic's initial effort. However, second-half substitute Mikel Merino equalized for Luis de la Fuente's side in the 61st minute following an assist from Dani Olmo.

Croatia went down to 10 men when Perisic received a second yellow card in the 79th minute for a foul on Marc Cucurella. Merino capitalized on the numerical advantage in the 88th minute, taking a lofted pass from Martin Zubimendi to score the winning goal past Dominik Livakovic and keep Spain perfect in the group.