Croatia vs Spain prediction, odds and preview

Croatia will be chasing a first major honour when they take on Spain in the final of the UEFA Nations League on Sunday night.

The two teams renew hostilities in De Kuip, where Zlatko Dalic’s team defeated the Netherlands 4-2 in their backyard in the semi-finals before La Roja rightly defeated Italy 2-1 to book their berth in the final.

Croatia needed extra time to see off the Netherlands with Real Madrid forward Luka Modric playing a big role in the victory.

Donyell Malen’s opener was cancelled out by Andrej Kramaric’s penalty before Mario Pasalic’s smart volley gave Dalic’s side the lead but Noa Lang was on hand to tie the fixture at the end of 90 minutes.

However, the Chequered Ones were the dominant force in extra time, when Bruno Petkovic’s long-range thunderbolt and Luka Modric’s composed penalty advanced them to another major tournament final.

Spain also needed a late inspiration from Real Madrid-bound Joselu to turn the tie around against Italy after going behind in the opening four minutes of their encounter.

Spain are still looking for their first piece of silverware since their Euro 2012 triumph, which marked the end of Vicente del Bosque’s magnificent era, and De la Fuente led a Roja side to a major tournament final just two years ago, but they only took a silver medal home from the Tokyo Olympics after losing to Brazil’s superiority.