Yamal inspires Spain to Croatia romp on World Cup homecoming

Spain's Lamine Yamal, 19, scored two goals and provided the assist for another in a dominant 4-1 victory over Croatia in Seville on Tuesday. This home game marked Spain's first match since winning the World Cup. Accompanying Yamal on the goal tally were Marc Pubill and Nico Williams, extending Spain's unbeaten run to 40 matches, including their recent triumph over Argentina in the United States.

Yamal's performance has bolstered his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or, with voting closing on Monday and the winner to be announced on October 26. Captain Rodri displayed the World Cup trophy before the match, which was presented by Sevilla legend Jesus Navas, who was part of Spain's winning team in 2010. Yamal, along with Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal, were among the attackers who started the match, having scored in the previous day's thrilling 3-2 win against England at Wembley.

Croatia made six substitutions from their previous game against the Czech Republic, benching veteran Luka Modric. Yamal opened the scoring within two minutes, taking just 75 seconds to do so in Seville. Just before halftime, the visitors equalized through Dion Beljo's header. Spain regained the lead in the second half when Pubill converted a header from a pinpoint Yamal cross.

Two minutes before the interval, a post denied Spain a third goal as Fermin Lopez's shot struck the crossbar. Yamal added his second goal after 63 minutes, outpacing Barcelona team-mate Dominik Livakovic at the near post. With less than two minutes remaining, Athletic Bilbao's Williams scored a fourth goal for Spain, dribbling past the Croatia goalkeeper.