Spain beat Czechia 2-0 in Prague on Thursday night, and the world champions barely had to get out of second gear to do it. Alex Baena’s first-half penalty and a stoppage-time strike from substitute Marc Pubill kept La Roja’s perfect Nations League record intact, stretching their unbeaten run in competitive football to an astonishing 44 games.
It was a professional, controlled performance from Luis de la Fuente’s side, who had already secured a quarter-final place before travelling to the Czech capital. The win makes it five wins from five in Group A3, and sets up a mouth-watering final group game against England in Madrid on Sunday.
Spain beat Czechia 2-0: Baena breaks the deadlock from the spot
The breakthrough arrived six minutes before half-time, as PUNCH reported. A VAR check spotted a handball by Czech midfielder Lukas Ambros inside the box, and Baena stepped up to fire the penalty past Matej Kovar, who got a touch to the ball but could not keep it out. The Atletico Madrid winger’s calm finish was reward for Spain’s growing dominance, after a slow start on a chilly evening in Prague.
Spain had already threatened through Fabian Ruiz, who curled a shot against the post three minutes before the interval, while Dean Huijsen’s header was held by Kovar. The hosts, roared on by a packed Stadion Letna, grew into the game after the break — David Zima forced a save from close range on 50 minutes and Adam Hlozek’s glancing header landed on the top of the crossbar.
Any hope of a Czech comeback faded two minutes into the second half, when Yeremy Pino — standing in for the injured Lamine Yamal on the right flank — had a goal overturned by VAR for offside. Then came the moment that settled the contest: Czech captain Ladislav Krejci was sent off in the 69th minute for bringing down substitute Roberto Fernandez on a counter-attack, a second red card against Spain in a month after he was also dismissed in the 3-1 defeat in Spain last month.
Pubill seals it deep into stoppage time
Down to ten men, Czechia lost what momentum they had built, and Spain went hunting for the second goal that would kill the game. Kovar denied Fernandez from close range and kept out two more Baena efforts, but he was finally beaten again with almost the last kick of the match.
Deep into stoppage time, the Czech back four were caught in possession in their own half, and Pubill — another substitute — pounced to slot a low shot past Kovar and make it 2-0 in the 96th minute. It was the perfect reward for a squad player seizing his moment, and it capped a night on which Spain’s depth was the story as much as the result.
De la Fuente made seven changes to the side that beat Croatia, and still his team controlled the game from start to finish — 70 per cent possession, 704 passes and 22 shots. That is the luxury of a squad this deep: even without Yamal, Dani Olmo, Rodri and Eric Garcia through injury, and Mikel Oyarzabal sidelined with flu, Spain never looked like losing.
What Spain beat Czechia 2-0 means for Group A3
The result leaves Spain top of Group A3 on a maximum 15 points, with England — who beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley on Thursday thanks to Harry Kane’s record 126th-cap penalty — second. The two sides meet in Madrid on Sunday in the final group game, with top spot to be decided there, though both are already through to the quarter-finals.
For Czechia, the picture is far bleaker. They sit bottom of the group without a single point from five games, having lost all of them, and are heading for the relegation play-offs. Their final group game takes them to Croatia, a match they need to win to keep any hope of staying in the top tier of the competition.
Spain, meanwhile, march on. Forty-four competitive games without defeat, five wins from five in this Nations League campaign, and a squad so strong that a much-changed team can go to Prague and win without ever being seriously troubled. On Sunday, England arrive in Madrid — and that, finally, looks like a genuine test. For more on the international break, check today’s predictions, and for the other big Nations League result of the night, read our report on Italy 3-1 France.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, Bryan Berlin) — collage by SportsBuddy.
