England 2-1 Croatia: 5 Hits and Flops, UEFA Nations League 2018/19

#4 Hit: Nikola Vlasic

Vlasic, on-loan at CSKA Moscow from Everton, was one of Croatia's bright sparks despite their 2-1 defeat

Everton supporters will have been watching this fixture with keen interest - not least as two of their own players were starting for their respective nations.

Nikola Vlašić, 21, is currently spending the season out on-loan at CSKA Moscow. With five goals and two assists in 15 matches (all comps), his development is clear for all to see in Europe, though he created his first assist for Croatia's senior side on this occasion.

It was his intelligent movement and timing which allowed him to evade the attention of John Stones, while supplying a pass in time beyond Joe Gomez into Kramaric's path inside the box.

A scrappy finish given the circumstances, it just highlighted how quickly the hosts were susceptible on the counter-attack and the game's relentless tempo - admittedly at times - suited the way Vlašić likes to play.

He didn't shy away from his defensive duties, either. With three tackles, two clearances and a foul committed, he displayed his willingness to defend out of possession - while accelerating forward to attack when possible. His passing accuracy (70.6%) wasn't particularly impressive, but the fact he was able to create chances with 30 touches - the game's second least of any starter, proves he's increasingly efficient.