The narrative writes itself and for once it's not forced: Lamine Yamal, 19, against Luka Modric, 41, in a competitive match that actually matters. Spain host Croatia at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Tuesday in a Nations League Group A3 fixture that doubles as a generational time capsule. Spain arrive riding a 39-game winning streak — a European record — after staging a 3-2 comeback against England in London on matchday one. Yamal needed two minutes to score at Wembley and followed it with a man-of-the-match performance. His seven La Liga goals this season place him joint-second in the scoring charts. Dani Olmo, his Barcelona teammate, contributed an assist and remains a secondary creative threat De la Fuente can rotate freely. Croatia responded to Slaven Bilic's return as coach with a 2-1 win over Czechia in Prague, Modric scoring the opener. Two decades after his international debut, the captain still pulls strings in midfield with a consistency that defies biological plausibility. Ivan Perisic set up the winner and carries two goals and an assist for PSV Eindhoven this season, making the veteran left flank a genuine threat rather than a sentimental selection. Spain's squad takes a minor hit: goalkeeper Joan Garcia is out until October with a knee injury, and defender Eric Garcia has been replaced by Robin Le Normand after withdrawing with knee discomfort. Croatia lose Martin Baturina and Josip Juranovic to illness, plus centre-back Martin Erlic to injury. Neither side is drastically weakened. The Nations League format — designed in 2018 to replace meaningless friendlies with competitive group-stage matches featuring promotion and relegation — gives this fixture genuine stakes. Spain are chasing a second title after their 2023 triumph. Croatia, beaten 3-0 by Spain at Euro 2024 (goals from Morata, Fabian Ruiz, and Carvajal), have something to prove in a head-to-head record that reads 6-3-2 in Spain's favor across 11 meetings. De la Fuente's probable XI lines up as: Simon; Pubill, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Yamal, Olmo, Nico Williams; Ferran Torres. Bilic is expected to field: Livakovic; Stanisic, Vuskovic, Gvardiol, Perisic; Modric, Kovacic; Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic, Ivanovic; Matanovic. Broadcast coverage spans RTVE PLAY in Spain, gol in Croatia, Prime Video in the UK, FOX Sports and FuboTV in the US, Sony Sports Network in India, beIN SPORTS across MENA, and DStv Stream in South Africa. Kickoff is 8:45pm local time, 18:45 GMT.
