Spain continued their impressive UEFA Nations League campaign with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Czechia in Prague on Thursday night, with Álex Baena and Marc Pubill finding the net to extend the world champions’ remarkable unbeaten run.
Luis de la Fuente’s men dominated much of the encounter but had to remain patient against a determined Czech side before eventually securing all three points through a first-half penalty and a stoppage-time strike.
Spain entered the contest looking to maintain their perfect record in Group A3, having already secured qualification for the quarter-finals. However, the hosts initially made life difficult for the visitors, defending compactly and attempting to exploit opportunities on the counter-attack.
The visitors gradually established control, with Ferran Torres and Marc Cucurella testing the Czech defensive organisation through dangerous attacking movements.
Spain came particularly close in the 32nd minute when Pau Cubarsí connected with a header following an excellent delivery from Cucurella. The young defender’s effort crashed against the crossbar, denying Spain what would have been a deserved opening goal.
The visitors continued applying pressure, and their persistence eventually paid off in the 39th minute following a VAR intervention.
Czechia midfielder Lukáš Ambros was penalised for handling the ball inside his penalty area, prompting referee Nikola Dabanović to award Spain a spot kick after reviewing the incident.
Álex Baena stepped forward to take responsibility and demonstrated excellent composure, sending a powerful right-footed effort towards the bottom-left corner. Goalkeeper Matěj Kovář managed to get a touch but could not prevent the ball from entering the net.
The goal gave Spain a 1-0 advantage and rewarded their dominance in the opening half.
The visitors nearly doubled their lead before the interval when Fabián Ruiz produced an excellent curling effort from outside the penalty area, only for his shot to strike the right-hand post.
Spain returned for the second half with the intention of extending their advantage and appeared to have achieved that objective just three minutes after the restart.
Yeremy Pino raced onto a superb long pass from goalkeeper Unai Simón, controlled the ball and calmly finished beyond Kovář.
However, celebrations were short-lived after VAR reviewed the goal and confirmed that Pino had been in an offside position. The goal was subsequently disallowed, keeping the score at 1-0.
Czechia gradually grew in confidence and began creating more problems for the Spanish defence as they searched for an equaliser.
The hosts came agonisingly close in the 68th minute when Adam Hložek rose to meet a dangerous delivery inside the penalty area. His powerful header beat Simón but crashed against the crossbar, leaving Spain relieved to escape without conceding.
The match took another dramatic turn shortly afterwards when Czech captain Ladislav Krejčí was sent off following a VAR intervention.
Krejčí brought down substitute Roberto Fernández, who was breaking towards goal, and the referee initially reviewed the incident before showing the defender a straight red card in the 72nd minute for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
The dismissal left Czechia with 10 players and significantly complicated their attempts to recover from the deficit.
Spain subsequently increased their attacking pressure, looking to take advantage of the numerical superiority and put the contest beyond the hosts.
The visitors created several opportunities in the closing stages, with goalkeeper Kovář making important saves to keep Czechia within reach of a result.
Roberto Fernández also came close to scoring after finding space inside the penalty area, but his effort struck the right-hand post in the closing minutes.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the sixth minute of stoppage time when substitute Marc Pubill settled the contest with a composed finish.
After Roberto Fernández’s effort had struck the post, the ball remained in a dangerous area. Pubill reacted quickly, took advantage of the loose ball and fired a low right-footed effort into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-0.
The late goal brought an end to Czechia’s hopes of rescuing a point and confirmed another important victory for Spain.
The final whistle marked Spain’s fifth consecutive victory in the Nations League group stage, taking them to 15 points from five matches and maintaining their position at the top of Group A3.
For De la Fuente’s side, the performance demonstrated their ability to remain patient against stubborn opposition while continuing to create opportunities even when their opponents defended deep.
Czechia, meanwhile, will regret failing to capitalise on their second-half opportunities, particularly Hložek’s header against the crossbar and the chances that emerged before Krejčí’s dismissal.
Spain will now turn their attention to Sunday’s encounter against England, with the meeting at the Metropolitano set to determine the final Group A3 standings.
With their impressive run continuing, the world champions will approach the decisive fixture with confidence as they look to maintain their position among the leading contenders for the Nations League title.
