Croatia vs Spain Lineups October 2026 – The Croatia vs Spain match will mark the conclusion of the second international fixture of both teams in League A Group 3 of the UEFA Nations League.

Spain arrive with an extremely sharp attacking performance, while Croatia must quickly bounce back after suffering a poor result in their previous match.

The match is scheduled to take place at Poljud Stadium on Tuesday, 06 September 2026 at 20:45 local time.

The two rivals will meet again at Poljud Stadium, Split, shortly after La Roja’s 4-1 victory on September 29, which was preceded by a much more humiliating night for Slaven Bilić.

Now, before the match begins, let’s take a look at Mansion Sports’ predicted Croatia vs Spain lineups for October 2026 below!

Condition of Both Teams Ahead of the Match

Croatia

Accustomed to playing entertaining and competitive matches against England in recent years, from the 2018 World Cup semifinal and their meeting in the Euro 2020 group stage to the thrilling 2026 World Cup encounter that produced six goals several months ago, Croatia were surprisingly and comprehensively destroyed by the Three Lions on Saturday night.

Two goals from Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka, along with goals from Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham, and Anthony Gordon, gave England a record-breaking 7-0 victory. The result also became an unwanted low point for The Chequered Ones.

The unbelievable result on Saturday became the biggest defeat in Croatia’s history in men’s football, while also marking the first time they had conceded five goals in a home match.

Thousands of schoolchildren who were allowed to watch the match, which was held behind closed doors, left the stadium feeling devastated.

Now in a difficult situation after suffering two consecutive defeats while conceding 11 goals, Croatia sit third in the League A Group 4 standings.

They are three points ahead of Czechia, who have yet to earn a point, and level on points with second-placed England.

Bilić could only apologize to the public following Saturday’s historic defeat.

The result also became one of the main factors behind Croatia conceding 12 goals in the 2026-27 Nations League, the same total as the second-highest conceding team. Only San Marino have conceded more, with 14 goals.

Spain

From having the second-worst defense to becoming the second-strongest attacking unit, Spain joined England in reaching 10 goals on Saturday night after comfortably outperforming a Czechia side reduced to 10 players.

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the sixth minute before midfield duo Rodri and Mikel Merino added further goals.

Between those two goals, Jiri Slama briefly pulled one back for Czechia, while Ladislav Krejci was shown a red card during the match in Oviedo.

With three wins from three Nations League matches and comfortably sitting at the top of Group 3, the world champions have now extended their unbeaten run to 41 matches across all competitions. Their last 10 matches have all ended in victories.

In addition, Luis de la Fuente’s side are now unbeaten in 16 consecutive Nations League matches, excluding defeats via penalty shootouts.

That record is the longest unbeaten run achieved by any team since the competition was first introduced in 2018.

More records continue to fall for the team that has conquered the world. Spain’s 4-1 victory over Croatia in September marked their fourth consecutive win against the hosts. Croatia have also conceded at least two goals in five of their last six meetings with Spain.

Croatia vs Spain Lineups October 2026

Croatia (4-2-3-1)

As for the condition of Croatia’s squad, the only positive from their 0-7 defeat against England is that Bilić has no new injury concerns.

However, five players remain at risk of suspension: Luka Vuskovic, Marco Pasalic, Josip Misic, Petar Sucic, and Martin Pongracic.

Pongracic, however, was not included in the matchday squad on Saturday, along with Lovro Majer, Ante Budimir, and Dion Drena Beljo. Bilić was forced to leave four players out of the 23-man group he brought with him.

The surprising performance on Saturday could give one or more players an opportunity to return, while Luka Modric, who was substituted before the hour mark against England, should retain his place for his 206th appearance for the national team.

Spain (4-3-3)

Meanwhile, regarding Spain’s squad condition, De la Fuente substituted Yamal and Alex Baena during the first half against Czechia.

However, both substitutions were tactical decisions and were not indications of injury problems for either player.

Pau Cubarsi was also not used at all due solely to recovery concerns. Nevertheless, La Roja experienced several player changes before the match began. Ferran Torres, Nico Williams, and Alex Grimaldo all withdrew, while Fabian Ruiz was also absent following the birth of his child.

Even so, De la Fuente can still rotate his squad once again. He previously made nine changes to the starting eleven when securing victory over Czechia.

With the two teams in contrasting situations, the match at Poljud Stadium will be an important test for Croatia as they look to respond to their heavy defeat, while also providing Spain with an opportunity to continue their remarkable positive run.

La Roja’s attacking form and Croatia’s efforts to improve their defense will be among the key factors determining the course of the match.