How it happened
Mikel Merino scored in the 61st and 88th minutes to turn a match Spain had trailed since the 17th minute. It finished Croatia 1-2 Spain at Stadion Poljud, Split, in League A, Group 3.
I. Perišić gave Croatia the lead after 17 minutes, and the side took a 1-0 advantage into half-time. Spain levelled through Merino on 61 minutes.
Croatia then lost Perišić to a red card in the 79th minute. Nine minutes later Merino scored again to settle it. Eric Lambrechts refereed on a cloudy evening, with the temperature at 23C.
The numbers
The match was closer than the scoreline suggests. Each side had 10 shots, and Croatia put 5 on target to Spain's 3. Expected goals were 1.18 for Croatia and 1.08 for Spain, so Croatia created slightly better chances.
Spain controlled the ball, with 72% possession to Croatia's 28%, and won 6 corners to 3.
Merino earned a match rating of 8.3, the highest on the pitch, from 26 touches. His expected goals were 0.44, so he scored twice from chances worth less than half a goal. Aymeric Laporte followed with a match rating of 7.5, 140 touches and 2 key passes. Unai Simón made 4 saves and had a match rating of 7.3.
What it means
Spain have now won all 10 of their recent matches, scoring 22 and conceding 6, and this was their 11th straight win. Croatia's recent sequence reads L-L-L-W-L-W-W-L-W-L: four wins and six defeats, with 12 goals scored and 24 conceded. This was their seventh defeat in 11.
The result follows Spain's 4-1 win over Croatia on 29 September. Of eight meetings, Spain have won five, Croatia two, and one has been drawn, with an average of 3.88 goals a game. Croatia's lead in this one lasted until the 61st minute.