Lamine Yamal fuels Spain's 3-0 start in Nations League

The 19-year-old Barcelona forward has scored in all three Group A3 wins, putting Spain on nine points and extending an unbeaten run that stands at 41 matches.

Lamine Yamal has found the net in all three of Spain's matches to begin the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League, carrying the reigning world champions to a maximum nine points in Group A3. The Barcelona forward, who turned 19 in July, scored once in a 3-2 comeback at England and twice in a 4-1 win over Croatia, then added another in a 3-1 victory against Czechia on Oct. 3.

The campaign opened at Wembley on Sept. 26, and Yamal struck after only two minutes, stripping the ball from Marc Guéhi and beating James Trafford with a low drive. Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane replied before the break to send England into halftime leading 2-1. Álex Baena equalized in the 60th minute and Mikel Oyarzabal hit a 74th-minute winner, extending Spain's streak without a competitive defeat to 39 matches.

Croatia visited Seville three days later, and again Yamal scored inside the opening two minutes. Álex Baena delivered into the area, the ball ran beyond Fermín López, and the teenager met it first time, sweeping a low shot into the far corner. Dion Beljo's 28th-minute header drew Croatia level, but Marc Pubill met a Yamal cross with a strong header past Dominik Livaković to restore Spain's lead within three minutes.

Spain carried a 2-1 lead into the break and settled the contest afterward. Yamal ran onto a Pedri pass in the box and finished from an acute angle in the 63rd minute, and Nico Williams rounded out the scoring in the 89th. Yamal's two goals and one assist gave him three across the opening two group games and brought up his 10th senior goal for Spain, while the win extended the country's run without a competitive loss to 40 matches.

The Croatia appearance was Yamal's 35th for his country. He then scored again when Spain beat Czechia 3-1 on Oct. 3, lifting his senior tally to 11 goals, and that result pushed the unbeaten sequence to 41 competitive matches.

Around Spain, Group A3 has begun to sort itself out. Croatia opened with a 2-1 win over Czechia, England recovered from Wembley by winning 2-0 in Czechia on Sept. 29 as Gordon and Kane scored after Pavel Šulc was sent off in the first half, and England then beat Croatia 7-0 on Oct. 3. Spain leads on nine points, followed by England with six, Croatia with three and Czechia with none. Three league-phase games remain, with every group rival meeting home and away, and Spain is scheduled to end the group stage against England on Nov. 15.

Yamal's international résumé dates to September 2023, when he played and scored against Georgia in a European Championship qualifier at 16 years and 57 days old. UEFA lists him as both the youngest senior international in Spain's history and the youngest scorer in European Championship qualifying, and he had made only five first-team appearances for Barcelona at the time.

Further age records came at Euro 2024. He became the youngest player to appear at a European Championship when he faced Croatia at 16 years and 338 days, then the tournament's youngest scorer when he struck against France in the semifinal at 16 years and 362 days. One day past his 17th birthday he featured in the 2-1 final win over England, the youngest player to appear in a European Championship or World Cup final, and UEFA also recognizes him as the youngest winner of a major international tournament.

Spain's next fixture sends it to Croatia on Tuesday, Oct. 6, kicking off at 2:45 p.m. EDT at Stadion Poljud. England hosts Czechia that same day at 2:45 p.m. EDT at Wembley Stadium.