With half an hour on the clock, Spain took the lead. Croatia’s centre-backs were caught napping, allowing too much space between themselves, and Fabian Ruiz simply passed right through them for Alvaro Morata to chase onto it, and he made no mistake when bearing down on goal.

Croatia, who offered little to that point, sought to find an immediate equaliser. Mateo Kovacic felt empowered to drive past the Spain midfield and let fly from 25 yards, but his strike was easily gathered by goalkeeper Unai Simon.

And Spain punished their opponents back down the other end. Lamine Yamal – the new youngest player in Euros history – did well to bring the ball forward down the right flank before coming back inside, with play eventually worked to Fabian, who danced past Kovacic and Luka Modric before picking out the bottom corner with a piercing shot.

Again Croatia looked to get at La Roja from kick-off, with Marcelo Brozovic this time forcing Simon into a low parry, and Lovro Majer fired the rebound into the side-netting.

Another chance for Croatia went begging when Majer’s cross found Josko Gvardiol at the back post, but his effort slipped through the hands of Simon and behind for a goal kick.

With one final first-half attack, Spain added their third. A short corner routine ended with Lamal crossing in for Dani Carvajal, whose deft touch beat Livakovic at the near post.

In the second half, Spain nearly grabbed a fourth on a swift counter attack, which ended with Pedri slipping through Yamal, who was denied by a fine save down low by Livakovic. From the resulting corner, Yamal’s cross deflected off the thigh of Morata and whistled past the post.

Back down the other end, Spain’s clean sheet was preserved by the skin of their teeth. Kocacic’s cut-back eventually trickled to Josip Stanisic, but Marc Cucurella denied him with a fine block. Ante Budimir and Andrej Kramaric looked to convert the rebound in a goal-mouth scramble, only for Simon to push the ball away to safety.

With Spain in complete control, Croatia stumbled into penalty. Simon’s poor pass from the back was pounced upon by Majer, and Petkovic was felled by Rodri with the goal gaping. Though Simon saved Petkovic’s initial penalty, Ivan Perisic reacted quickest and squared the rebound back for the Dinamo Zagreb striker to score. However, after a VAR check, Perisic was penalised for encroachment and the goal was chalked off.

Spain’s triumph was confirmed after five minutes of stoppage time – they return to action on Thursday against Italy, while Croatia are back in action on Wednesday against Albania.

Spain player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Unai Simon – 6/10 – Came up with some vital stops at crucial points in the contest but again found himself in the spotlight for a lazy pass from the back. Made amends with the penalty save, in fairness.

RB: Dani Carvajal – 9/10 – Two goals from corners in his last two competitive games for club and country. Somehow, this was his first game at a Euros and his first goal for Spain. Given little bother by Kramaric.

CB: Robin Le Normand – 6/10 – Given the nod at centre-back ahead of Aymeric Laporte and didn’t look out of place.

CB: Nacho Fernandez – 6/10 – A calming presence back in the Spain fold. Didn’t carry any mental fatigue over his uncertain Real Madrid future into this performance.

LB: Marc Cucurella – 7/10 – The Chelsea left-back’s redemption story continued with a tenacious and spirited display up and down Spain’s flank.

CM: Rodri – 6/10 – A rather standard performance by Rodri’s ludicrously high standards. Got away with a poor attempt at a cynical foul in the first half when Croatia were on the break. Worryingly substituted with a muscle problem late on.

CM: Pedri – 7/10 – Pulled the strings in midfield and made Croatia pay in transition. Afforded an hour as De la Fuente looked to sensibly manage his minutes.

Croatia player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Dominik Livakovic – 4/10 – Hardly cut an imposing figure between the sticks, particularly for Spain’s first and third goals.

RB: Josip Stanisic – 4/10 – Caught far too high up the pitch in an incredibly testing first half for Croatia.

CB: Josip Sutalo – 4/10 – Sat too wide at points, which notably led to Morata running through for the game’s opening goal.

CB: Marin Pongracic – 4/10 – Similarly caught out of position by a ruthless Spain, who killed the game when afforded the opportunity.

LB: Josko Gvardiol – 4/10 – As was the case with Stanisic, Gvardiol’s runs high into the Spain half came back to bite Croatia.

CM: Marcelo Brozovic – 5/10 – Found it a mighty tough ask to keep up with Spain’s much younger and more spritely midfield.

CM: Luka Modric – 5/10 – Couldn’t quite get his grip on the game, particularly off the ball when asked to do the dirty work.

CM: Mateo Kovacic – 5/10 – Glided past players when he had possession. Unfortunately, he allowed his Spain counterparts to quite easily do the same when the roles were reversed.

RW: Lovro Majer – 6/10 – Croatia’s main source of inspiration, though was made to work for his openings by the dogged Cucurella.

CF: Ante Budimir – 5/10 – Had his chances to attack Spain in the air, only to waste them without really coming close to harming La Roja.

LW: Andrej Kramaric – 4/10 – Offered the least out of any player in attack by a considerable distance on the day.

CM: Fabian Ruiz – 9/10 – A proper Spanish midfielder’s performance. Created a goal with a clinical pass between the lines, scored a goal with a clinical finish after dribbling away from a series of trailing legs.

RW: Lamine Yamal – 8/10 – 16 years of age? Really? Took his lumps early on but quickly learned his lessons to lead Spain’s attacks coming inside from the right. Produced a peach of an assist for Carvajal’s goal.

CF: Alvaro Morata – 8/10 – Always found a way to trouble Croatia’s backline. Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Michel Platini have scored more goals at European Championships.

LW: Nico Williams – 7/10 – Though his impact was sometimes lacking in a tangible sense, Williams’ direct style and blistering pace was important to Spain’s game plan.