Lamine Yamal continued his fine scoring form as Spain beat Czech Republic 3-1 in the Nations League on Sunday.
The win moved Spain three points clear of England at the top of Group A3. Luis de la Fuente’s side have now won all three of their group matches.
Yamal gave Spain the lead after only six minutes in Oviedo. The 19 year old created space on the right side of the box before curling the ball into the top corner.
It was another impressive goal from the Barcelona winger. He has now scored 12 goals in his last nine matches for club and country.
“We’re doing well, I’m very happy. I was eager to return to the national team after the World Cup, and there’s no better way than this,” Yamal said.
Rodri doubled Spain’s lead in the 35th minute. The midfielder moved into the box and fired the ball into the top corner.
It was his first goal for Spain in more than two years.
“It’s always special to score for the national team, I’d not been scoring many goals, let’s see if I’ve found that dynamic. It’s important, we all have to chip in with the goals,” Rodri said.
De la Fuente made several changes to the team that beat Croatia earlier in the week. Ivan Fresneda and Roberto Fernandez both made their Spain debuts.
Yamal came off at half time as Spain looked to manage his playing time.
The Spain coach was full of praise for the young winger after another strong display.
“I think he never stops surprising us. He has so much talent, so much quality, that we still haven’t seen the best version of Lamine by a long shot,” De la Fuente said.
Czech Republic found a way back into the game with 20 minutes remaining. Adam Hlozek played Jiri Slama through before Slama found the bottom corner with a low finish.
Spain goalkeeper David Raya then made a mistake with a pass outside his goal, but Czech Republic could not take advantage.
The visitors later put the ball in the net after Raya failed to hold it. However, Ryan Naderi’s effort was ruled out for a foul on Robin Le Normand.
Czech Republic’s hopes of a comeback suffered another blow when Ladislav Krejci received a second yellow card for pulling back Fernandez.
Mikel Merino then scored late on to make it 3-1 and secure the three points.
The victory extended Spain’s unbeaten run to 41 matches. They will next travel to face Croatia in the Nations League on Wednesday.
