Luis Enrique first contact with players came less than two weeks ago in training camp. He immediately imposed his energetic style in the practice sessions, and it translated onto the field in the first two matches.
It was the biggest defeat ever for Croatia, who were playing their first competitive game since reaching the World Cup final in Russia.
The football fervor that swept through England during June and July was punctured by a 2-1 loss to Spain.
Pique had announced before the World Cup that he did not plan on returning to the national team after the tournament in Russia.
Enrique replaces Julen Lopetegui, who was sacked on the eve of the World Cup after accepting the job at Real Madrid.
Spain drew with Portugal and Morocco and beat Iran to get out of their group, but lost to Russia on penalties in the round of 16.
In four matches David De Gea managed to save just one shot on target from 11 he faced, including four from Sunday's penalty shoot-out.
Russia won a World Cup knockout game for the first time since the Soviet Union in 1966, defeating Spain 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.
The World Cup's lowest-ranked team — 70th when the tournament began — now advances to a quarterfinal after causing one of the biggest upsets of the tourney, defeating Spain on penalties.
The 2010 World Cup champions Spain, have a tough task set up on the road to glory as they take on hosts Russia for a spot in the quarterfinals.
It was far from a beautiful win, but the Diego Costa goal was enough to make Spain coach Fernando Hierro smile.
Spain tied 3-3 with Portugal on Friday in their first World Cup 2018 match under newly-minted head coach Hierro.
As the first week of the World Cup is nearing its end, we analyse the main reasons behind the top team's debacle in their opening matches.
De Gea had a blunder late in the first half that allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to score the second of his three goals on a relatively basic shot.
Spain, the 2010 World Cup champion, dominated much of the match but were unable to contain Ronaldo.
Lopetegui was fired by Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales on Wednesday after Real Madrid unexpectedly appointed him as their coach.
Portugal's system is built on a solid defence with relatively few goalscoring chances being created, in the hope that Ronaldo will need just half a chance to score.
Spain beat Portugal at the 2010 World Cup, and again in the semifinals of the 2012 European Championship, going on to win the tournament both times.
Lopetegui had impressed by leading the Spain national team to the top of their qualifying group and had kept them undefeated in 20 matches since taking over from Vicente del Bosque in 2016.
Fernando Hierro took over as Spain coach on Wednesday, shortly after the national soccer federation's fire Julen Lopetegui for accepting a job to lead Real Madrid next season without letting officials know in advance.
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