Nations League matchday 4, Tuesday: Merino sends Spain through, Kane equals England's caps record

Tuesday's ten Nations League matches closed matchday 4 with 26 goals. Spain came from behind to win 2–1 at Croatia with two goals from Mikel Merino, a half-time substitute, and are through to the quarter-finals; England beat Czechia 3–0 at Wembley on the night Harry Kane equalled the national caps record. Switzerland made it four wins out of four, while Scotland lost at home to Slovenia. Four home wins, four away wins and two draws, with three red cards, two of them in Astana.

The early kick-off

Kazakhstan 2–2 Faroe Islands in Astana had two red cards and a comeback from two goals down. Petur Knudsen put the Faroe Islands ahead on 22 from Jóannes Bjartalíð's pass and Géza Dávid Turi made it 2–0 on 63, but Martin Agnarsson was sent off two minutes later. Sergey Malyy scored for Kazakhstan on 68 and Nuraly Alip equalised on 76 from Maksim Samorodov's pass; Malyy was then sent off himself on 85. Kazakhstan had 23 shots, four on target. The Faroe Islands have drawn all four of their matches.

The evening

Croatia 1–2 Spain at the Poljud in Split turned on a substitution and a red card. Ivan Perišić headed Croatia in front on 17, but Mikel Merino, on for Álex Baena at half-time, equalised on 61 from Dani Olmo's pass. Perišić, booked on 22, was sent off on 79, and Merino won it on 88 from Martín Zubimendi's pass. Spain had 72 per cent of the ball; both sides had ten shots, Croatia five on target to Spain's three. UEFA confirms that the win puts Spain in the quarter-finals, and according to EFE they are now unbeaten in 42 matches. Croatia have not beaten Spain in five meetings since a 3–2 win in Zagreb in November 2018.

England 3–0 Czechia at Wembley was Harry Kane's night. Vladimír Coufal turned the ball into his own net on 27, Kane scored on 40 from Morgan Rogers' pass and again on 57 from Lewis Hall's, and went off to an ovation on 82. Czechia did not have a shot on target. Sky Sports notes that it was Kane's 125th cap, equalling Peter Shilton's England record, and that a point from the last two matches all but assures England of a quarter-final place. Kane called it "beyond my wildest dreams". England have won four of the five meetings on record.

Switzerland 3–0 North Macedonia in Lucerne repeated the score in Skopje on 26 September. Fabian Rieder scored on 43, Johan Manzambi, on at half-time, on 73 from Dan Ndoye's pass, and Ndoye on 81. North Macedonia had three shots and none on target. Switzerland have scored eleven and conceded one in four wins and lead League B, Group 1 by five points.

Scotland 1–2 Slovenia at Hampden turned after half-time. Ryan Christie put Scotland ahead on 31 from Oliver McBurnie's pass, then Aljosa Matko equalised on 56 from Danijel Sturm's pass and Sturm scored the winner on 71 from Matko's. Scotland had five shots on target to Slovenia's three, and Jan Oblak made four saves. It is Slovenia's first win over Scotland in four meetings on record, and it takes them three points clear of the Scots in second place. Sky Sports notes that Sébastien Pocognoli is still waiting for his first win at Hampden; "we need to improve on many things," he said.

Belarus 1–0 Finland, Belarus's home match, was played in Budapest and settled by Artem Shumanskiy on 1; UEFA says it was the fastest goal in the competition's history. Zakhar Volkov missed a penalty for Belarus on 15. Finland had 74 per cent of the ball and 13 shots, but only two on target, as many as Belarus. The sides are level on seven points, two behind Albania.

Albania 2–1 San Marino in Tirana needed a stoppage-time penalty. Kristjan Asllani scored on 11; Lorenzo Lazzari equalised on 66 from Lorenzo Capicchioni's pass, San Marino's first goal of the campaign. After a VAR check on 90, Asllani scored the penalty on 90+3. Albania had 26 shots, seven on target, and go top of League C, Group 1 on nine points.

Moldova 0–4 Slovakia in Chișinău was 2–0 at half-time. David Strelec scored on 8 and Tomáš Suslov on 44 from Ivan Mesík's pass; Dávid Hancko added the third on 60 from Lukáš Haraslín's pass and Haraslín the fourth on 75 from Leo Sauer's. Moldova had 17 shots and five on target, and Dominik Greif made five saves. Slovakia lead League C, Group 3 by six points.

Estonia 0–0 Iceland in Tallinn followed a 1–1 in Reykjavík on 26 September; all three meetings on record have been drawn. Iceland had 62 per cent of the ball but one shot on target; Estonia had three. Estonia are unbeaten in four and have conceded one goal; Iceland lead League C, Group 4 on eight points.

Luxembourg 0–2 Bulgaria reversed Luxembourg's 2–1 win in Gabrovo on 26 September. Kristiyan Balov scored on 19 from Emil Tsenov's pass and Atanas Iliev on 34 from Georgi Rusev's. Luxembourg had 63 per cent of the ball and 18 shots, seven on target, and Bulgaria's Dimitar Naumov made seven saves.

The groups after Tuesday

• League A, Group 3: Spain 12 (+7); England 9 (+11); Croatia 3 (−10); Czechia 0 (−8).
• League B, Group 1: Switzerland 12 (+10); Slovenia 7 (+2); Scotland 4 (−2); North Macedonia 0 (−10).
• League C, Group 1: Albania 9 (+5); Belarus 7 (+3); Finland 7 (+7); San Marino 0 (−15).
• League C, Group 3: Slovakia 10 (+7); Faroe Islands 4 (0); Moldova 4 (−5); Kazakhstan 2 (−2).
• League C, Group 4: Iceland 8 (+6); Estonia 6 (+1); Bulgaria 4 (−2); Luxembourg 3 (−5).

Numbers to know

• 26 goals in ten matches; four home wins, four away wins and two draws.
• Spain, Portugal and Switzerland have won all four of their matches.
• North Macedonia have not scored in four; San Marino have scored once and conceded sixteen.
• Three red cards: Agnarsson on 65 and Malyy on 85 in Astana, Perišić on 79 in Split.
• Two penalties: Asllani scored his on 90+3, Volkov missed his on 15.

Next up

Matchday 5 is played on 12–14 November. Thursday 12 November brings Türkiye v Belgium and Armenia v Cyprus at 17:00 UTC, then Italy v France, Czechia v Spain and England v Croatia among the matches at 19:45. Spain v England follows on 15 November. The full round is on the Nations League page.

Sources for the context: UEFA, EFE via Infobae, Sky Sports, Sky Sports.