Yamal inspires Spain to Croatia romp on World Cup homecoming

Lamine Yamal, a 19-year-old Spanish footballer, scored two goals and provided an assist as Spain defeated Croatia 4-1 in a Nations League match on Tuesday. This was Spain's first home game since winning the World Cup. Yamal, joined by Marc Pubill and Nico Williams, extended the team's unbeaten run to 40 matches, which includes their win over Argentina in the United States earlier this year.

Yamal's performance strengthened his case for the Ballon d'Or, as voting for the award closed on Monday with the winner to be announced on October 26.

Spain's coach, Luis de la Fuente, praised Yamal's contribution to the team, stating that he would receive more recognition for his role in the future. Captain Rodri displayed the World Cup trophy before the match at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, which had been brought back home by Sevilla legend Jesus Navas, who had won the trophy with Spain in 2010. Yamal expressed his excitement about winning the game and bringing the trophy back.

Yamal, along with Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal, started the game having scored in Spain's 3-2 victory over England at Wembley. Croatia made six changes from their previous match against the Czech Republic, benching icon Luka Modric. Yamal opened the scoring within two minutes against Croatia and took just 75 seconds to do so against the Three Lions.

Two minutes before halftime, Croatia equalized through Dion Beljo's header. The hosts regained the lead in quick succession as Pubill scored a header from Yamal's cross and Williams scored a fourth goal for Spain with a crisp dribble and finish just 45 seconds before halftime. Spain's coach described the game as a back-and-forth battle against a well-defended opponent.