Croatia v Spain: the champions visit a side still reeling from 7-0

Croatia v Spain tonight in Split: kick-off time, how to watch, line-ups and what Spain need for the quarter-finals after Croatia's record 7-0 loss to England.

Croatia v Spain tonight is not just another Nations League fixture. At 20:45 Spanish time the world champions walk into Split's Poljud stadium with nine points from nine and the chance to seal a quarter-final place. Waiting for them is a Croatia side still in shock: on Saturday they were beaten 7-0 by England in Rijeka, the heaviest defeat in their history. The question everyone is asking is simple enough: does Croatian pride kick in, or does the champions' momentum roll on?

Here is everything you need for Croatia v Spain: kick-off time, how to watch, what Luis de la Fuente's side need, the probable line-ups and why that 7-0 changes how you should read the game.

Croatia v Spain: kick-off time and how to watch

• When: Tuesday 6 October 2026, 20:45 CEST (19:45 UK time).
• Where: Poljud stadium, Split, home of Hajduk.
• Competition: Matchday 4 of League A, Group 3, in the 2026-27 Nations League.
• TV in Spain: free-to-air on La 1 and RTVE Play, and on DAZN.

The night of the 7-0: what happened in Rijeka

On Saturday 3 October, England ran riot at the Rujevica stadium in Rijeka. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored twice each, with Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers also on the scoresheet. It is Croatia's worst result since independence. The previous low had a Spanish flavour, oddly enough: the 6-0 thrashing Spain handed them in Elche in September 2018, also in the Nations League.

The setting was as surreal as the score. UEFA had ordered Croatia's first home game of this campaign to be played behind closed doors as punishment for racist and discriminatory behaviour by some of their supporters during the 2025 quarter-final against France. An exemption allowed schools and academies to bring children aged 14 and under, so around 6,000 kids watched the Vatreni fall apart on a night none of them will forget in a hurry.

Luka Modrić, captain and the face of the generation that reached the 2018 World Cup final and finished third in 2022, made no excuses. He said that in twenty years with the national team it was the first time he had felt ashamed after a match, and added that on that form Croatia would have lost to a fourth-tier side.

It comes at a delicate moment, too. Slaven Bilić returned to the dugout this summer after Zlatko Dalić stepped down following Croatia's World Cup round-of-32 exit against Portugal. Bilić already had a spell in charge from 2006 to 2012, taking the team to the quarter-finals of Euro 2008.

Spain's Nations League group as it stands

Spain have a perfect record. They came from behind at Wembley (2-3), swept Croatia aside in Seville (4-1, with two from Lamine Yamal plus goals from Marc Pubill and Nico Williams) and beat Czechia 3-1 in Oviedo on Saturday through Yamal, Rodrigo and Mikel Merino. The Barcelona winger has four goals and an assist in three games.

Croatia v Spain: probable line-ups

According to the probable line-ups published by Eurosport, De la Fuente will rotate again in his fourth game in ten days:

• Croatia: Livaković; Smolčić, Šutalo, Čuškovič, Gvardiol; Modrić, Mišić, Sučić; Pašalić, Baturina, Matanović.
• Spain: Unai Simón; Pubill, Le Normand, Huijsen, Cucurella; Zubimendi, Pedri, Fermín López; Lamine Yamal, Víctor Muñoz, Oyarzabal.

What recent history says

Croatia have not beaten Spain since November 2018, a 3-2 win in Zagreb in the first edition of the Nations League, just two months after that 6-0 in Elche. Since then, every meeting that mattered has gone Spain's way:

1. Euro 2021 last 16 in Copenhagen: 3-5 after extra time.
2. 2023 Nations League final in Rotterdam: 0-0, with Spain winning on penalties.
3. Euro 2024 group stage in Berlin: 3-0.
4. 2026-27 Nations League in Seville: 4-1.

Then there is the streak. Spain are unbeaten in 42 competitive matches, their last competitive defeat being a 2-0 loss to Scotland in Glasgow on 28 March 2023. A win in Split would extend that run and leave them well placed to top the group before their final two games: Czechia in Prague on Thursday 12 November, then the big one against England at the Metropolitano on Sunday 15 November.

Croatia v Spain prediction: backlash or domino effect?

Football is full of teams who answered a humiliation with their best performance in years, and in Modrić, Gvardiol and Kovačić Croatia still have the know-how to do exactly that. But the gap between the two sides has been plain to see, and Spain put four past them only a week ago.

If you are calling this one with your mates, Spain are the sensible pick, with the only real question being how much wounded pride is worth to the hosts. What you should not do is bank on another rout: reaction games tend to be tighter than the table suggests.

And at the weekend, LaLiga returns to the quiniela

After two weeks of international football, the coupon gets its top-flight games back. Quiniela matchday 12 features eight LaLiga fixtures, including Barcelona v Getafe, Alavés v Atlético and Real Sociedad v Deportivo, six from the Segunda and Real Madrid v Villarreal as the Pleno al 15. Every earlier matchday is in the 2026-27 season archive.

And if you fancy adding a bit of edge to tonight's game, you can set up a prediction league with friends on quiniPrats in a couple of minutes: everyone makes their call and the table updates itself. Here is how it works, if you want to kick it off with Spain.