Spain have gone 39 games unbeaten, and Croatia go to Seville without three players
Slaven Bilic says England showed Spain can be got at. Croatia test that theory at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Tuesday night, with Luka Modric still pulling the strings at 41.
Sep 29, 2026
Spain have gone 39 games unbeaten, and the last side to test that run was England at Wembley on Saturday. Spain won 3-2. Croatia are next, in Seville on Tuesday night, and their coach thinks the English showed where the gaps are.
“Spain has some strengths that can be exploited, as England showed,” Slaven Bilic said before the game. “We don’t need a miracle; we need faith.”
Kick-off at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan is 8:45pm local time, which is 12:15am IST on Wednesday. It is the second round of games in League A Group 3, and both sides won their first.
What happened on Saturday
Spain came into the window as world champions and started it with a game that was closer than they would have liked. Lamine Yamal scored in the 2nd minute at Wembley, England led 2-1 at half-time, and Harry Kane then hit the bar from the penalty spot. Alex Baena equalised and Mikel Oyarzabal came off the bench to win it 3-2. Luis de la Fuente did not pretend it was a clean night. “We must present a better version than the one we showed in London,” he said ahead of the Croatia game.
Croatia’s opener was steadier. Bilic began his second spell in charge with a 2-1 win in Prague, and Luka Modric, at 41, scored the first goal. Bilic did not hold back afterwards. “At his age, he is incredible and the only one who can do what he’s doing,” he said.
Who is missing
Both squads have holes. Spain lost goalkeeper Joan Garcia to a minor knee problem, and Josep Martinez was called up in his place. Eric Garcia and Pedro Porro also pulled out, and Robin Le Normand came back into the squad.
Croatia’s list is longer. Martin Baturina, Josip Juranovic and Martin Erlic are all out, and Marin Pongracic, Kristijan Jakic and Lovro Majer were called up late to cover.
Mateo Kovacic was not interested in the numbers. “We know about the 39 games without losing, but I don’t want to dwell on that,” he said. “Spain, right now, is the best team in the world. There’s nothing better than playing against the best.”
The record between them
The sides have met 11 times. Spain have won six, Croatia three, and two have been drawn. The most recent was at Euro 2024 in Berlin, where Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal scored in a 3-0 Spain win. Modric and Kovacic both started that day.
Bilic’s line that “it can’t always be theirs” is the honest version of the plan. Expect Croatia to sit, wait and try to use Modric’s passing when they get the ball back. They have beaten Spain three times, so it has worked before. Doing it in Seville, against a side that has not lost a game in 90 minutes since March 2024, is a different job.