MADRID, September 12, 2018 (News Wires) - Spain smashed six goals past Croatia, with Marco Asensio sparkling in a dominant performance from Luis Enrique's side against the World Cup runners-up. The visitors actually started the better of the two sides, spurning a couple of early opportunities. From then on, though, Spain were rampant. Saul Niguez scored his second goal in as many goals to opening the scoring, powering home a header from an outside-of-the-boot Dani Carvajal cross. Asensio struck Spain's second, lashing home a finish from 25 yards, before forcing a third, finding the back of the net via the crossbar and the back of Lovre Kalinic in the Croatian goal. There was a fourth goal for Rodrigo after the break, with Sergio Ramos and Isco adding a fifth and sixth respectively. This result means Enrique's tenure as Spain manager has started in impressive fashion, with two wins from two in the Nations League. But it wasn't just the result, but the manner of the performance which will cause the rest of European football to sit up and take note. Poland 1 Republic of Ireland 1 Mateusz Klich's late strike denied the Republic of Ireland a morale-boosting victory after what has been a tumultuous week for Martin O'Neill's side. Following a 4-0 loss to Wales in Cardiff, build-up to the match in Wroclaw was dominated by a leaked Whatsapp audio message, which saw Stephen Ward describe a row between assistant Roy Keane and players Jonathan Walters and Harry Arter. Ireland boss O'Neill was forced to play down Ward's version of events as he sought to focus on the Poland friendly, in which he made six changes. An experimental Ireland side took the lead eight minutes into the second half, with Millwall forward Aiden O'Brien heading in from Callum O'Dowda's cross on his debut. Their lead was not to last, however, with Klich playing a neat one-two with Arkadiusz Milik before slotting it home. Potugal 1 Italy 0 Andre Silva netted the game's only goal as Portugal beat Italy 1-0 in their Nations League clash at the Estadio da Luz with Pepe earning his 101st international cap. Silva popped up to score in the 48th minute and Roberto Mancini's men had no response as Portugal closed out a hard-fought win. Portugal were the better team and could have won by more, with Gianluigi Donnarumma making a super save from Bernardo Silva after he had earlier seen a deflected cross hit his crossbar. But the night belonged to Portugal's legendary defender Pepe as the captain was honoured for his century of international caps before the match - albeit on the occasion of his 101st. It was perhaps fitting for the 35-year-old that his side did such a superb job protecting their slender advantage.
