Spain vs Croatia Lineups September 2026 – Spain will play their first home match since winning the 2026 World Cup when they face Croatia in the UEFA Nations League Group C.

The match is scheduled to take place at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 20:45 local time.

La Roja come into this match on the back of a 3-2 victory over England, while Croatia managed to defeat the Czech Republic on matchday one.

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

Both Teams’ Condition Ahead of the Match

Spain

Spain are undoubtedly the team to beat in international football after adding the World Cup trophy to their collection of European titles this summer.

La Roja showed the quality and mentality of World Cup champions in their opening UEFA Nations League match against England on Saturday, which was their first game since beating Argentina 1-0 in the final in July.

Lamine Yamal scored his eighth international goal within the first two minutes of the match at Wembley, before Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane turned the game around for England before half-time.

The intense match shifted once again when Kane saw his penalty strike the crossbar in the 55th minute.

Just moments later, Luis de la Fuente introduced Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal, who then scored one goal each to secure a 3-2 victory for La Roja. The result marked Spain’s fourth win in their last six meetings between the two sides.

Thanks to that impressive comeback, Spain remain unbeaten in international matches during normal time since their 1-0 defeat to Colombia in a friendly in March 2024.

Meanwhile, their last competitive defeat came against Scotland in March 2023.

Spain will also be confident of extending their unbeaten run after winning seven of their 10 competitive meetings with Croatia, including victories in their last three encounters.

Croatia

Slaven Bilic has returned as his country’s head coach, 14 years after his six-year spell in charge of the national team came to an end.

The 58-year-old coach took over from Zlatko Dalic, who left his position after his contract expired following Croatia’s elimination in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.

Bilic began his second spell with a hard-fought 2-1 away victory over the Czech Republic on matchday one of Group A3.

Luka Modric, who turned 41 at the beginning of this month, opened the scoring within the first two minutes of the second half. However, the goal was quickly cancelled out by Adam Karabec.

Orlando City’s Marco Pasalic eventually became Croatia’s hero. He scored his second international goal, more than two years after his first, to secure a 2-1 victory in Prague.

Croatia’s hopes of claiming another victory could be slightly hindered by their record of failing to beat Spain since a 3-2 home victory in the Nations League in November 2018.

Meanwhile, Croatia’s only victory on Spanish soil came in a 2-0 friendly win in March 1994.

Spain vs Croatia Lineups September 2026

Spain (4-2-3-1)

Regarding Spain’s squad condition, Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia and Tottenham Hotspur defender Pedro Porro withdrew from the squad before the victory over England due to injuries.

Atletico Madrid’s Robin Le Normand was called up as a replacement for Barcelona defender Eric Garcia, who left the squad after withdrawing from the starting lineup on Saturday due to a knee problem.

Baena and Oyarzabal could both be handed starting roles after coming on as substitutes and scoring in the comeback victory against England.

Pedri produced an impressive performance after coming on as a substitute at Wembley and could start if De la Fuente decides to freshen up his midfield for Tuesday’s match.

Croatia (4-2-3-1)

Meanwhile, regarding Croatia’s squad condition, Union Berlin’s Josip Juranovic and Midtjylland’s Martin Erlic withdrew from the initial squad due to injuries.

The two players were subsequently replaced by the call-ups of Lovro Majer, Marin Pongracic, and Kristijan Jakic.

Marco Pasalic could earn a starting place after scoring the winning goal when he came on as a substitute on Saturday.

Osasuna’s Ante Budimir could also be included in the lineup if Bilic opts to freshen up his attack for Tuesday’s match.

Spain will enter this match with high confidence after completing a comeback to defeat England, while also playing their first home match since lifting the 2026 World Cup trophy.

On the other hand, Croatia come into the game on the back of a victory over the Czech Republic and will look to put up another strong fight against La Roja.

With several changes potentially being made by both sides, including the possibility of the goalscorers from the bench starting from the opening minute, the Spain and Croatia lineups will be one of the key things to watch before the match begins.