Spain maintained their perfect start to the Nations League with a 3-1 victory over Czech Republic at the Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo on Saturday.
The win was Spain’s third in a row in the competition, following victories against England and Croatia, while Czech Republic remain without a point in the group.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring after only five minutes. The Barcelona winger collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area, beat a defender and curled a superb left-footed shot towards the far post, leaving goalkeeper Kinsky with no chance.
It was Yamal’s third consecutive match in which he had scored Spain’s opening goal.
Rodri doubled the advantage before the half-hour mark. Pedri carried the ball into the Czech penalty area, but the visitors’ defence could only partially clear it. The ball fell to Rodri, who struck a powerful and precise effort into the net to give Spain a comfortable lead before the interval.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente made several changes at the start of the second half. Yamal and Alex Baena were replaced by Victor Munoz and Yeremy Pino, before Mikel Merino and Fermin Lopez came on for Pedri and Dani Olmo.
The changes were intended to maintain Spain’s rhythm while giving other players an opportunity to feature.
Czech Republic reduced the deficit in about the 70th minute when Jiri Slama found space inside the penalty area. He sent a controlled low shot towards the far post, beyond the reach of David Raya, to give the hosts renewed hope.
They appeared to have equalised soon afterwards when Ryan Naderi capitalised on an error by Raya and put the ball into the net. However, the goal was ruled out because of a foul on Robin Le Normand, allowing Spain to retain their lead.
Czech Republic’s task became more difficult late on when Ladislav Krejci was shown a second yellow card and sent off for stopping a Spanish attack.
Spain then sealed the victory around the final minute. Victor Munoz forced a save from Kinsky, and Merino reacted quickest to the rebound, finishing into the empty net to confirm a 3-1 success for La Roja.