Nations League Tuesday Roundup: Merino Double Fires Spain Past Croatia as Kane Hits Two for England

Spain fought back from a goal down to beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League on Tuesday night, with Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino coming off the bench to score twice. 

In the same group, England cruised past the Czech Republic 3-0 at Wembley, and Harry Kane scored two on the night he matched the national record of 125 caps. Spain now lead League A Group 3 by three points over England.

Croatia looked the happier side early on after Ivan Perisic headed them in front after 17 minutes, and the home crowd gave the team a standing ovation at half-time. They had been beaten 7-0 by England in their last outing, so it was a big improvement. Spain, chasing an 11th win in a row, took control after the break. Dani Olmo pounced on a loose clearance and set up Merino to level in the 61st minute. Perisic, 37, was then sent off for a second yellow card after a foul on Marc Cucurella, and that moment looked costly. Martin Zubimendi slipped a fine ball through to Merino two minutes from time, and the midfielder finished it off for the win. It was Merino's 14th and 15th goals for Spain.

England made it look easy at Wembley. Czech defender Vladimir Coufal turned Kane's cross into his own net on 27 minutes, and Kane got his own goal five minutes before the break, tapping in a neat first-time ball from Morgan Rogers. He added a second after 57 minutes, heading in a Lewis Hall corner at the far post. That took him to 91 England goals, and he left the pitch to a standing ovation late on, replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Head coach Thomas Tuchel will be pleased, with three wins in a row since an opening loss to Spain. Trent Alexander-Arnold looked solid at right-back, and Hall is making a strong case at left-back. England play Croatia next in November before a tough trip to Spain.

There was bad news in League B Group 1, where Scotland lost 2-1 at home to Slovenia. Ryan Christie put the Scots ahead on 31 minutes with a cheeky flick, but they faded after the break. Aljosa Matko levelled on 56 minutes, and Danijel Sturm hit the winner on 71 after the pair swapped the roles of scorer and provider. It is a second home defeat in a row for new boss Sebastien Pocognoli, who is still waiting for his first win at Hampden. The night had started with a presentation for Andy Robertson's 100th cap, but the Scots now look set for pot three in the Euro 2028 qualifying draw. 

In the other game, Switzerland beat North Macedonia 3-0, with goals from Fabian Rieder, Johan Manzambi and Dan Ndoye.

League C also produced plenty of action. Albania edged San Marino 2-1, with Kristjan Asllani opening the scoring in the 11th minute. Lorenzo Lazzari levelled in the 66th minute, but Asllani sealed the win by converting a penalty in stoppage time. 

Belarus beat Finland 1-0 thanks to an Aleksandr Shumanskiy strike in the very first minute. 

Kazakhstan fought back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2 with the Faroe Islands. Petur Knudsen opened the scoring in the 22nd minute before Géza Turi doubled the lead in the 63rd minute. Martin Agnarsson was sent off two minutes later, before Serhiy Malyi pulled one back in the 68th minute. Nuraly Alip then levelled for Kazakhstan in the 76th minute, while Malyi was sent off in the 85th minute.. 

Slovakia hammered Moldova 4-0 with goals from David Strelec, Tigran Suslov, Denis Hancko and Lukas Haraslin. 

Bulgaria won 2-0 away at Luxembourg, with Kristian Balov and Atanas Iliev both scoring in the first half.  Estonia and Iceland played out a goalless draw.