LOS ANGELES -- Just outside of the scoring tent where he had recorded an even-par 70 in the final round of the U.S. Open, all Rory McIlroy could do was stare at the ground in silence.

His face reddened by a full day of sunlight, the four-time major champion took a sip of his water bottle, shook his head a few times and winced. He couldn't start going through his post-round interview circuit until it was official, so he waited for the inevitable sound to come from the nearby 18th green -- a cheer that would indicate a familiar fate he had already been forced to accept: He had lost his chance at a fifth major championship by a single stroke.

"I didn't even need to wait for the tap-in," McIlroy said of Wyndham Clark's par putt on 18, which secured Clark's first-ever major victory. "It's just fine, fine margins at this level and at this tournament specifically, but I fought to the very end."

McIlroy's voice sounded an octave or two lower, his shoulders slumped and his demeanor was one of resignation. Perhaps no one is intimately familiar with those fine margins more than him -- Sunday marked the fourth time in the past two years that he has finished in the top five of a major and the second time in the past four majors that he's been the favorite heading into the final round only to come up just short.

"The last real two chances I've had at majors, I feel like have been pretty similar performances," McIlroy said. "I played the way I wanted to play. There were just a couple of shots, two or three shots over the course of the round, that I'd like to have back."

In what felt like a painful redux of last year's Open Championship, where McIlroy held a share of the 54-hole lead but allowed Cameron Smith to slip past him during the final round, McIlroy couldn't make any of the putts he needed to hang on to his major chances. Ironically, he shot 70 (2 under) that day at the Old Course, too, and it wasn't enough.

McIlroy didn't make many mistakes throughout his even-par round at the Los Angeles Country Club, but much like at St. Andrews, he didn't capitalize on the few opportunities either. On the third hole, McIlroy missed a 16-foot birdie putt, which would prove to be the theme of his day. Between the eighth hole and the 12th hole, McIlroy missed potential birdie putts of 7 feet, 14 feet, 15 feet and 18 feet. Pars weren't hurting him, but they weren't helping him either. Those fine margins loomed larger by the hole.

"I don't think I was hitting bad putts; just hitting them just with slightly the wrong speed," McIlroy said. "Some were coming up short, some were going a little long."

Besides the short birdie putt on the eighth hole, the other shot McIlroy said he'd like to have back happened on the par-5 14th hole. McIlroy had a sand wedge into the green and a chance to get another birdie look. Instead, he flew it short, the wind batting it down at the most inopportune time. As McIlroy looked back on it, he said he probably should have waited 15 or 20 seconds to let the gust subside. Instead, he made bogey. The margins had struck again.

By the time he made his way down the final stretch, McIlroy was going to need a miracle to win, let alone make a playoff. Long birdie putts on 16, 17 and 18 couldn't find the back of the cup, missing multiple times by a few inches. Once again, the margins didn't fall on his side. And once Clark hit the green on his approach into 18, it was all over.

"You don't want to wish bad on anyone, but you're really hoping for a three-putt," McIlroy admitted. "Wyndham was pretty much rock solid all day."

Over the past two years, McIlroy has won other tournaments, the Tour Championship even, all the while carrying the public-facing load of a golf world that's been fractured and is now uncertain. This week, he tightened up his approach, doing fewer media appearances and further narrowing his focus while playing some of his best golf despite not having his best stuff. It all looked to be building up to a victory. But then again, so did things at the Old Course last year. Those margins keep getting in the way; the scars keep getting deeper.

Once Clark's final putt dropped, McIlroy appeared to quickly make his way through disappointment and on to something like acceptance. As he stood in front of reporters and answered questions, that acceptance gave way to something like motivation. Like any athlete at this level who has won before, it's easy to know what goes into the necessary cocktail of self-belief after a loss. You always have to think you can win again.

"I'm getting closer," McIlroy said. "The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it's going to happen for me."

It's hard for McIlroy to get much closer than he has the past two years. Earlier this week, he talked about watching old highlights of himself at his last major win -- the 2014 Open Championship at Hoylake. It's been nine years, and McIlroy hasn't lifted another major trophy since. Next month, he and the golf world are going back to Hoylake for the 2023 Open.

A win there would almost be too perfect, too full circle to dream of for McIlroy and the thousands of fans who tried to will him to a win Sunday, both at LACC and around the world. Yet whether it happens at Hoylake or somewhere else down the line, McIlroy has no choice but to believe that the fine margins will favor him once again. In the face of another disappointing defeat, it's the only thing that could make the pain he felt after his final round worth it.

"I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship," McIlroy said. "When I do finally win this next major, it's going to be really, really sweet."

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Open has not been a kind major to Cam Smith in recent years. The Australian hadn’t finished inside the top 30 since a T-4 at Chambers Bay in 2015.

The success he found in the wide fairways of Washington state rolled over this weekend to Los Angeles Country Club, where Smith fired three rounds in the 60s and closed with a Sunday 67 to post a T-4 finish.

But as he leaves Southern California, Smith believes a better start to the tournament could have provided an even more meaningful breakthrough at this national championship.

“The U.S. Open typically hasn't been a happy hunting ground for me. Probably due to lack of driver accuracy, especially the first couple of days. Really hit that driver in the fairway and give myself a lot of opportunities,” Smith said.

“I feel like if I had to reflect, those first two days for me is where the putts just didn't quite drop, and definitely should have been a little bit further up the leaderboard.”

Overall, Smith hit 35-of-52 fairways this week.

After a slow start, his putter was hot Sunday, ranking eighth in the field with 2.53 strokes gained.

He also had his usual prowess around the greens on full display, especially on the Par-5 14th. After finding an impossible position inside the left greenside bunker with his second shot, Smith elected to guide his ball into a more favorable spot in the sand. From there, he promptly got up-and-down for par.

Despite starting the round seven shots off the lead, Smith felt like he had an opportunity to win after a birdie on No. 6, but he gave the shot back on the ensuing hole.

There are two LIV events on the calendar before Smith returns to Great Britain hoping to defend his title at The Open Championship. He’s building momentum, too, as this weekend followed up a strong performance and T-8 finish at the PGA Championship in May.

Winning at Royal Liverpool will require a simple strategy.

“The difference to winning the golf tournaments and not winning, just keep that driver on a string,” he said.

Wyndham Clark survived a tricky layout and outplayed some of the game’s most well-known players to win the 123^rd U.S. Open on Sunday at Los Angeles Country Club.

Clark shot even-par 70 to earn his first major victory in his seventh major start. It’s his second PGA Tour title, coming three starts after his maiden win last month at the Wells Fargo Championship, a designated event.

The 29-year-old finished at 10 under par, one clear of Rory McIlroy. Scottie Scheffler (70) finished three back, in third place, with Cam Smith (67) alone in fourth place at 6 under. Rickie Fowler shot 5-over 75 to tie for fifth.

For McIlroy, it was shades of last year’s Open Championship at St. Andrews, where he couldn’t get putts to fall in the final round and fell to Smith.

Birdies weren’t as significant this Sunday, but McIlroy didn’t make enough. In fact, he just made one, on his first hole. One birdie, one bogey for a 70.

Clark, who shared the overnight lead with Fowler, set the early Sunday pace with three birdies and a bogey over his first seven holes. Fowler, meanwhile, bogeyed Nos. 2, 5 and 7.

With Fowler falling five back, Clark’s closest competitor was McIlroy. The Northern Irishman birdied the par-5 first, but then parred out on the front nine to stay stuck at 10 under.

Clark, at 12 under, ran into trouble at the par-5 eighth, when his second shot settled in thick fescue short of the green. He whiffed on his third shot and blasted his fourth through the putting surface. Clark was able to save bogey and then made a 7-footer for par at the ninth – following a brilliant pitch shot to that position – to make the turn with a one-stroke advantage over McIlroy.

Fowler managed to stay in the mix, thanks to a birdie at No. 8, the resultant two-shot swing with Clark allowing him to cut his deficit to three.

Scheffler, meanwhile, entered the closing nine four back, trading a wild bogey at the seventh for a routine two-putt birdie at the eighth, his only scoring holes on the outward half.

A four-player race quickly came down to two, however, as Scheffler and Fowler both hit into the same greenside bunker at the par-3 11^th and made bogey. For good measure, they each bogeyed the 12^th.

It was Clark vs. McIlroy, with McIlroy one group ahead. And for the 2011 U.S. Open champion, it was par after par after par. He missed a 4-footer for birdie at No. 8, a 12-footer at No. 9, a 15-footer at No. 10 and an 18-footer at No. 11.

But, he made no bogeys.

While Clark was scrambling, hole after hole, to avoid squares, McIlroy was hitting greens – 12 of his first 13 – and safely two-putting.

Then came the par-5 14^th. After driving it into the left rough and laying up to 125 yards, McIlroy missed the green short with a wedge. His ball embedded into the grass above the face of a bunker, from which he was able to get relief. Taking a drop in the greenside rough, McIlroy pitched to 9 feet and again – but this time for par – missed.

"I feel like I didn't time the shot perfectly," McIlroy said of his approach. "I hit it when the wind was at its strongest and the ball just got hit a lot by the wind, and obviously it came up short. If I had it back, I think I had the right club and the right shot. I might have just had to wait an extra 15 or 20 seconds to let that little gust settle."

McIlroy walked off the 14^th green two back, at 9 under, leaving it open – literally – for Clark. After an extended wait, Clark launched a fairway wood from 282 yards to 20 feet. He two-putted for birdie, his first since the sixth hole, to extend his lead to three with four to play.

He needed every one of those shots.

Clark made a sloppy bogey at the 139-yard, par-3 15^th and then hit his tee shot on the par-4 16^th into a fairway bunker. After laying up, he hit a wedge from 133 yards to 7 feet but lipped out the par save.

McIlroy entered the 502-yard, par-4 18^th one back and laced a tee shot 321 yards down the right side of the fairway. With 181 yards remaining, he first backed off his approach shot and then tugged an iron 41 feet left of the hole.

His birdie effort to tie for the lead rolled by the right edge.

Eleven months ago at St. Andrews, McIlroy hit all 18 greens and took 36 putts. This Sunday, he hit 15 greens and needed one too many swipes.

"The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it's going to happen for me. Just got to regroup and get focused for Hoylake in a few weeks' time," said McIlroy, whose last major win came at Royal Liverpool in 2014.

"When I do finally win this next major, it's going to be really, really sweet. I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship."

Clark, ultimately, needed two putts to win. After a great up and down at the 17^th to save par, he hit the green in two at No. 18, but 60 feet away.

With the crowd allowed to encircle the green, Clark calmly rolled his birdie putt to within 2 feet and tapped in for par and the victory.

LOS ANGELES -- When Wyndham Clark was a child, his mother, Lise, liked to put notes of encouragement in his book bag. The notes might have been a source of embarrassment for Clark back then, but he certainly wishes his mother was around to see what he accomplished on Sunday.

Clark, who was ranked 293rd in the Official World Golf Ranking a year ago and had never finished better than a tie for 75th in a major championship, held off Rory McIlroy, world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler and Rickie Fowler in the final round to win the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

Clark, from Denver, carded an even-par 70 on Sunday. His 10-under total of 270 was one stroke better than McIlroy, who failed to end a nearly nine-year drought without a major championship.

Clark opened up a three-shot lead over McIlroy with four holes to play. Then Clark made back-to-back bogeys to trim it to one. McIlroy could manage no better than par in his final five holes, leaving Clark to win it on his own.

On the par-4 18th hole, Clark hit his tee shot down the right side of the fairway. His second shot was short of the green, leaving him 59 feet, 9 inches to the hole. With a gallery of hundreds of fans gathering on the fairway behind him, he calmly two-putted for the victory. He buried his head in his hands and hugged his caddie, John Ellis.

With early mistakes knocking Fowler and Scheffler out of the hunt, it was a two-man battle down the stretch between Clark and McIlroy, a four-time major winner. Clark, 29, had made the cut in two majors before this week. But after picking up his first PGA Tour victory at the Wells Fargo Championship five weeks ago, Clark's confidence swelled. He came into the week vowing to be "cocky."

Clark was that and more over the final 18 holes. He became only the fourth player in the past 100 years to win the U.S. Open in the first tournament in which they made the cut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Lucas Glover was the last player to do it in 2009.

Clark started the final round as the co-leader at 10 under with Fowler, a California native, who was trying to capture his first major championship. Clark picked up a birdie on the first hole and a bogey on the second. After adding two more birdies on Nos. 4 and 6, Clark avoided near-disasters on the final two holes of the front nine.

The par-5 eighth had been the easiest hole on the North Course all week, but it wasn't for Clark on Sunday. His second shot was nearly perfect but came up about a yard short and settled deep into native grass in a barranca, a deep gorge in front of the green. He had an awful lie and stance and swung under the ball on his third shot. Then he popped his ball out and over the green. He had a great chip to about three feet to save a bogey. It could have been worse. He dropped to 11 under after eight holes, one ahead of McIlroy and three in front of Fowler.

Then, on the par-3 ninth, Clark's tee shot was short, and his ball settled in the native grass again. He had a near-perfect chip shot above the hole, and his ball rolled down the green to about six feet. He knocked in the putt and made the turn at 1-under 34.

Fowler and Scheffler both carded back-to-back bogeys in the first three holes of the second nine, dropping them to 6 under and 5 under, respectively. After that, it was all but down to Clark and McIlroy.

Clark and McIlroy both posted pars on each of the first four holes on the back. Then there was a two-stroke swing on the par-5 14th. McIlroy's third shot became embedded in a greenside bunker. He received a free drop but couldn't get up and down. He missed a nine-footer for par and made a bogey, dropping him to 9 under. Clark narrowly missed an eagle putt on the 14th after reaching the green in two shots. He settled for a birdie, opening up a three-shot lead over McIlroy with four holes to play.

It might have been Father's Day on Sunday, but Clark's late mother was undoubtedly on his mind. Lise Thevenet Clark grew up in Albuquerque and attended New Mexico State. In 1981, she was crowned Miss New Mexico and competed in the Miss USA pageant.

She moved to Los Angeles, where she sold cosmetics for Mary Kay. In April 1989, she married Randall Clark, a former professional tennis player. In 1990, their daughter, Kaitlin, was born. After the family moved to Denver, Wyndham was born in 1993. His younger brother, Brendan, came along in June 1997.

Six months after her youngest child was born, Lise Clark was diagnosed with breast cancer. She endured rounds of chemotherapy and radiation for two years until she was diagnosed as cancer-free in 2001.

Lise Clark introduced her older son to golf. Wyndham grew up playing at Cherry Hills Country Club. His mother passed the baton to her husband, who started playing the game when Wyndham was three years old.

"My mom first took me to play golf, but my dad was the one that really got me into golf," Clark said. "Every time I'd go golf at a young age, it was with my dad. There's so many memories of us leaving at 6 a.m., our family on like a family vacation and we'd come back and play golf before noon, and that was the only way my mom would let us do that."

Clark said his father instilled in him "hard work and discipline."

"I feel like I get a lot of my fieriness from him," Clark said. "So he's given a lot."

The Minnesota Twins placed right-handed reliever Jorge Lopez on the 15-day injured list Sunday for mental health reasons.

Lopez did not allow a run in 11⅓ innings over 12 April outings, but he has struggled mightily the past month. In eight outings since May 21, Lopez, an All-Star last year for the Baltimore Orioles, has allowed 12 earned runs in 6⅓ innings.

"I think it's definitely the right move for him, and I'm actually glad that he's open to the idea of doing it," manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters, according to MLB.com. "And [it's] something that we are going to take advantage of right now and get him in the best possible place to come back."

Lopez, 30, is 2-2 with three saves and a 5.00 ERA in 29 appearances this season.

The Twins recalled Jordan Balazovic from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move. He made his major league debut in Minnesota's 7-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out two batters in 3⅔ innings.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

BOSTON -- Juneteenth flag designer Ben Haith stood on the mound at Fenway Park before the Red Sox hosted the Yankees on Sunday, waving his arms to pump up the crowd.

A collection of Black community leaders and Red Sox employees fanned out behind him, all wearing special Juneteenth commemorative jerseys that bore Haith's creation on the back.

"It feels like I'm living in a miracle," Haith said before throwing a ceremonial first pitch as part of baseball's commemoration of Juneteenth, which marks the date that news of the end of slavery reached Texas -- two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.

"It wasn't always comfortable for me to come to Fenway Park, because sometimes I would hear people called names," said Haith, who designed the red and blue Juneteenth flag with the exploding white star that was first raised in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury in 1979. "But things have changed and it's like a miracle."

The last team in the major leagues to integrate their roster, the Red Sox were among the teams marking the June 19 holiday this weekend.

WWE announcer Samantha Irvin performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as the Black National Anthem, as well as the "Star-Spangled Banner." On Monday, an exhibit from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, "Barrier Breakers: From Jackie to Pumpsie," will open at nearby Emerson College.

"Lift Every Voice" was also performed in Oakland before the Athletics' game against the Phillies. The Mariners celebrated Juneteenth on Saturday with "Salute to the Negro Leagues" day, wearing jerseys from the Seattle Steelheads from the 1940s. The Chicago Cubs honored the holiday with pregame ceremonies, including Grammy-nominated producer and poet Malik Yusef throwing out a ceremonial first pitch.

In Washington, the Nationals will mark the occasion on Monday with a special matinee start for their series opener against St. Louis. Fans buying a special ticket package received a Nationals Juneteenth T-shirt, and $5 from each of those sales will be donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The occasion was especially poignant for Haith, who learned about Juneteenth while growing up in Virginia. (His aunt's husband was named June -- "the name stuck with me," Haith said.) He lived for a time in Connecticut and followed the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants, and after moving to Boston never felt the pull of the Red Sox.

Haith had heard the stories about how the Red Sox gave Jackie Robinson a sham tryout and also opted not to sign Willie Mays. The ballclub did not field a Black player until Pumpsie Green in 1959 -- more than a dozen years after Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.

Former Boston Mayor Kim Janey, who was the first woman and the first person of color to hold the office, said the team has come far since then.

"I've been so impressed with the Red Sox organization and everything that they are trying to do to really make sure that there's healing in our city, to make sure that we are righting wrongs of the past," said Janey, who also took part in the pregame ceremony. "It's wonderful to see, and we need to do more of it."

SEATTLE -- Julio Rodriguez hit a two-run double, rookie Bryce Miller pitched seven crisp innings and the Seattle Mariners overcame a dominant performance by Lance Lynn, defeating the Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Sunday.

Lynn matched a franchise record with 16 strikeouts in seven-plus innings, but Miller was terrific and Seattle received clutch hits from Rodríguez and Jarred Kelenic in the victory.

Though he fell to 4-7 with the loss, perhaps Lynn can use Sunday's effort to turn his fortunes around. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Lynn's strikeout total was the most in a game by a pitcher entering with an ERA of 6-plus since 1913, when earned runs became official in both leagues.

"His will to pitch the game that he pitched is what it was. He knew that we needed him," White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. "That's what makes him great."

Rodriguez's third-inning double put the Mariners up 2-0. The 22-year-old Rodríguez, the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year, got his 15th steal of the season in the sixth, joining Fernando Tatis Jr. as the only players in major league history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in their first 200 games.

Lynn departed after Kolten Wong opened the eighth with a bunt single. After two-out walks by Ty France and Teoscar Hernandez loaded the bases, Kelenic made it 5-1 with a triple off Reynaldo Lopez.

Lynn became just the fifth pitcher since 1990 to take a loss in a game in which he threw at least 16 strikeouts and allowed three earned runs or fewer, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

"He had 113 pitches and he wanted to go back out," Grifol said. "I can't say enough about what he did today, and what he showed, and the character. It was unbelievable."

Miller (5-3) allowed one run and four hits in his second straight win. He struck out six and walked none.

Justin Topa got three outs before Ty Adcock worked the ninth. Adcock retired Andrew Vaughn on a fly ball to left with runners on the corners for the final out.

After falling behind in the third, Lynn struck out the side in the fourth on 14 pitches -- getting cleanup hitter Hernandez on three pitches and Kelenic on four.

"His command was great, his sweeper was good. He pitched in, he pitched away," Grifol said. "He had everything going."

Andrew Benintendi hit an RBI single in the sixth for Chicago, which lost for the sixth time in eight games. Lynn allowed four hits and walked two.

"It's Lance Lynn, you know, he's definitely been in the league for I don't know how many years, so the guy knows how to pitch," Kelenic said. "He's a stud. He had his A-game today, and we battled."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BELMONT, Mich. — Leona Maguire played her final six holes in 6 under and shot an 8-under 64 on Sunday to win the Meijer LPGA Classic by two strokes, her second tour victory.

Maguire made six birdies and an eagle in her bogey-free round at Blythefield to finish at 21-under 267. She caught playing partner Ariya Jutanugarn with an eagle on the par-5 14th hole to reach 18 under, then closed with three straight birdies to pull ahead of Jutanugarn and Xiyu Lin.

Maguire was solid but unspectacular on the front nine, birdieing both par 3s, and was 2 under for the day through 12 holes. She then birdied the par-3 13th to kick off her torrid closing stretch.

Jutanugarn, a 12-time winner on tour including two majors, shot her second straight 66 and finished alone in second. Lin, playing in the final group, birdied the 14th to reach 19 under but played her final four holes in 1 over to shoot 68 and finish tied for third with third-round leader Amy Yang (69).

The 28-year-old Maguire, from Ireland, was the runner-up at Blythefield in both 2021 and last year. She won her first LPGA Tour title last year at the Drive On Championship. Sunday’s finish was her third straight in the top 10 heading into two upcoming majors: the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship next week at Baltusrol and the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach on July 6-9.

Hyo Joo Kim (69) was fifth. Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho had a fourth-round 69 and finished in a tie for sixth with Jasmine Suwannapura (66). Ashleigh Buhai, the 34-year-old South African who won the ShopRite LPGA Classic last week in New Jersey, was a stroke off the lead entering the final round but struggled to a 73 and tied for 13th.

LOS ANGELES – Gordon Sargent finished off a terrific first appearance at the U.S. Open with the honor of low amateur, but his week at Los Angeles Country Club might be remembered for a 20-inch putt on the 72nd hole.

Actually, a missed 20-inch putt.

With good pace and a straight line, Sargent’s second-to-last stroke of the championship hit the back of the cup, only to bounce out and leave him with a tap-in bogey. Social media immediately burst aflame, wondering how that type of robbery could happen at a U.S. Open.

According to the USGA, a previous group’s caddie had some issue pulling out the flag. While doing so, the caddie lifted the cup liner, which bounced Sargent’s ball out of the hole. Officials put the liner back in the proper position after the incident.

Thankfully, Sargent’s miss didn’t cost the Vanderbilt star the low-am title or any prize money, since he is not a professional.

The blemish also doesn’t diminish an otherwise fantastic Sunday. During one stretch, Sargent recorded five birdies in seven holes to shoot 69 and finish the weekend 4 over. The next closest amateur was Georgia Southern’s Ben Carr at 13 over.

Dani Carvajal converted the decisive spotkick to hand Spain a first title in more than a decade as they edged Croatia 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Nations League in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The 31-year-old, who has won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid, calmly chipped home Spain's sixth kick of the shootout as they claimed their first silverware since the 2012 European Championship.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

The final at the Feyenoord Stadium ended goalless after extra time, and defeat on penalties was a further heartbreak for an expectant Croatia, who were runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and third in Qatar last year, but are yet to win a title.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon first saved from Lovro Majer in the shootout, giving Aymeric Laporte a chance to win the contest, but the defender blasted his effort against the crossbar to leave it 4-4 after five kicks each.

But Simon came up trumps again with another save, this time from Bruno Petkovic, before Carvajal wrapped up victory.

"It was a very tight match, we knew we weren't going to win easily," said Simon.

Spain were Nations League runners-up two years ago to France and success will come as a major fillip after a disappointing World Cup in Qatar, where they were upset by Morocco in the last-16.

Spain should have opened the scoring in the 12th minute after stealing possession away from Croatia but Gavi dragged his shot wide.

A long ball from deep in Croatia's half caught out Spain's high defensive line and allowed Andrej Kramaric a breakaway chance in the 23rd minute but Laporte chased back to make a superb tackle.

In the second half, Croatia's Ivan Perisic made headway down the left flank and provided an inviting cross that Mario Pasalic missed and Josip Juranovic followed up with a wild effort well wide of goal.

Spain substitute Ansu Fati added energy to their cause when he came on and he might have won the game in the 84th minute when Rodri set him up to shoot from close range, but Perisic was on the line to clear with goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic beaten.

Spain's Nacho produced another goal-saving tackle in extra time to deny Majer, while at the other end Dani Olmo blasted over the bar from inside the opposing penalty area.

Spain finished the two-hour contest strongly as Olmo had another chance and Rodri saw his shot deflected narrowly wide.