Mission accomplished with two matchdays still to go. In Split, Spain confirmed their place in the UEFA Nations League knockout stage with a victory over Croatia, thanks to a Mikel Merino brace, completing a perfect record of four wins from their opening four matches.

Along the way, Luis de la Fuente’s side, who have extended their unbeaten run to 43 official matches, have scored 12 goals and conceded four, giving them a +8 goal difference — the second-best in League A, the competition’s top tier. In fact, Spain and Portugal are the only two teams to have secured their place in the knockout stage as early as the fourth matchday, underlining their outstanding form during the first international window of the season.

As for the standings, Spain sit on 12 points, three clear of England, their nearest challengers, who defeated Czechia 3-0. Croatia are third on four points, while Czechia are still without a point and will be Spain’s next opponents on 12 November. The first phase will then conclude three days later against the Three Lions at Madrid’s Metropolitano.

With qualification already secured, Spain will approach their final two matches with the aim of maintaining their unbeaten record and finishing this opening stage of the competition at the top of the table. After that, attention will turn to the quarter-finals, which will be played over two legs in March.