Sergio Busquets involved in Spain’s rout of Ivan Rakitic’s Croatia

Spain continued their strong start under Luis Enrique with a second consecutive win in the UEFA Nations League.

This match had the potential to be a thrilling affair with two talented teams, and it certainly lived up to that. However, it was a lot more one-sided than most people envisaged as Spain dismantled the World Cup finalists in Elche. This means that La Roja have started the Nations League perfectly and are strong favourites to top the group. They will also fancy their chances of winning the entire competition after this display.

Croatia started brightly as their high pressing unsettled Spain in the build-up phase, with a mishit Sergio Busquets pass leading to a shot fired wide by Ivan Rakitic. Ivan Santini and Ivan Perisic had chances as well, but neither were able to threaten David De Gea. Under Luis Enrique, the defence is heavily involved in the build-up, at the expense of midfield to some extent, in order to draw the opposition up the pitch and create space for the attacking players.

Zlatko Dalic’s men were happy to sit back at times, though, and the first goal came from an accurate switch of play by Sergio Ramos to Dani Carvajal who crossed for Saul Niguez to head home. Not long after that, Marco Asensio picked up a stray pass in the final third and fired past Lovre Kalinic with a stunning effort. He seemed to gain confidence from that because two minutes later he cut inside from the right flank and let fly with a powerful shot which hit the crossbar and bounced in off Kalinic.

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Spain started the second half with the same intensity as they had in the first half, and it didn’t take them long to score. Saul and Asensio cut through Croatia’s medium block with two precise passes, which left Rodrigo Moreno in an easy 1v1 to make it 4-0. Sergio Ramos added to the scoreline with a header from Asensio’s corner after some dreadful marking. Asensio made it a hat-trick of assists as he played in Isco in the box who created an opening with some sharp movement and fired into the corner.

Rodrigo, Isco and Thiago Alcantara all had chances to extend the scoreline, but the defence and Kalinic were able to keep them out and avoid making it even more embarrassing. However, it is the biggest defeat in Croatia’s history, so it was a dismal day for them.

Asensio was the star of the show as he put in a top performance to once again show why he is seen as one of the top prospects in world football. Enrique’s decision to play him on the right flank worked well because he was able to cut inside on his favoured foot with deadly effect and Carvajal was a willing overlapping full-back to keep the defence stretched.

Aside from the early mistake, Busquets put in another solid, under-the-radar performance as him, Saul, Dani Ceballos and the two centre-backs ensured play was constantly moving. Spain’s dominance and the vast amount of talented midfielders at his disposal meant Enrique was able to rest him by bringing on Rodri in his place in the 59th minute. Sergi Roberto didn’t play, so both players should be in good shape for the Real Sociedad match. Rakitic will be aiming to put this game behind him as him and his side were run ragged by a dominant Spain.