Sports

Nations League: Yamal helps Spain extend unbeaten streak, Gordon and Kane lead England

England Spain Nations League Soccer Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Nations League Soccer match between England and Spain in London, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton) (Ian Walton/AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Lamine Yamal led World Cup winner Spain on Tuesday as it defeated Croatia in the Nations League to add to its record unbeaten streak, while England rebounded from its opening loss to the world champions with a victory over 10-man Czechia.

Yamal scored twice and set up another goal as Spain beat Croatia 4-1 at home to reach 40 games unbeaten.

England needed second-half goals by Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane to defeat the Czechs 2-0, with the hosts playing a man down from the 25th after Pavel Sulc was shown a red card.

Spain win again behind red-hot Yamal

Spain got past Croatia in its second game since beating Argentina in the World Cup final, with Yamal scoring two minutes into the match and again in the 63rd.

Marc Pubill also scored, finding the net in the 31st, two minutes after Dion Drena Beljo had equalized for the visitors. Nico Williams sealed the Spain victory in the 89th.

La Roja had extended its unbeaten streak to 39 games by rallying to a 3-2 win over England at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Spain leads Group A3 with six points, three more than both England and Croatia.

Croatia won 2-1 at Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, on Saturday, with veteran midfielder Luka Modric scoring his nation’s opening goal. Modric started on the bench against Spain on Tuesday, entering the match in the 81st.

Spain will still host Czechia on Saturday and visit Croatia next Tuesday.

England back to winning

England played with an extra man for most of the match and needed goals by Gordon in the 47th and Kane in the 69th to win its first match in the Nations League this season.

Sulc was sent off for a foul in the first half, with video review changing a yellow card into a red.

In the lower-tiered League B, Switzerland won 3-0 at Scotland, which played a man down from the 11th after a red card to Jack Hendry. Slovenia beat visiting North Macedonia 2-0.

In League C, host Moldova and Faroe Islands drew 1-1, while Finland and Belarus played to a scoreless draw in Helsinki.

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