Spain vs Croatia : 5 things we learned, UEFA Nations League 2018-19
The World Cup 2018 runners up Croatia certainly saw the wrath of the mighty La Roja when the two sides met yesterday in their UEFA Nation's League fixture. The Spanish team scored 6 past the Croatian side to claim the top spot in their Nation's League group, after having beaten England last week.
This defeat was Croatia's worst defeat in their International history, and came as a shock to the footballing world, just after their recent brilliant performance at the World Cup. Lets look at some of the talking points and highlights from the game.
#1 Six Goals, six different scorers
The six zero scoreline at the full time whistle revealed a very rare statistic, and clearly showed the attacking prowess of Spain - all the six goals were scored by different players, including an own goal from the Croatian goalkeeper, Kalinic.
Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez put the hosts in front in the 24th minute which was followed by two quick goals, both scored by Marco Asensio, but one of them was later ruled as an own goal from the Croatian keeper. The next three goals were buried in the net by Rodrigo, Sergio Ramos and Isco in the second half.
#2 Marco Asensio was on fire - 3 assists and 1 goal
The Madrid starlet who is deemed to be the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo was totally on fire last night. The 22 year old created 3 goals for his fellow team-mates and scored one goal. He was also involved directly in the shot at the Croatian goal which resulted in an own goal by the Croatian goalkeeper.
At the tender age of 22, Asensio's future at Real Madrid and with the national team seems extremely bright. If he keeps his head straight, he could surely become one of the best players in the world.