Competing is staying alive even in bad times. And that’s what Spain did in Prague, where they completed one of the darkest matches of the Luis Enrique stage but where they were also able to rescue a point at the last minute and keep their chances of reaching the final four of the Nations League almost intact despite add only two points in two days.
He started the night drawing a nightmare for Spain, strangely unrecognizable. Fifteen seconds later, the Czech Republic had already forced the first corner. And before four minutes, Kuchta had beaten the back of the Spanish defense and had given the first goal to Pesek. The VAR confirmed that Carvajal broke the offside and in Prague the party began.
Given the accumulation of matches, Luis Enrique had chosen to make up to eight changes to his team with respect to the Portugal match, a bet that did not go well for him against a Czech Republic that preferred to wait locked up in their field, selecting very well the moments to go to press.
Gavi was one of the few who repeated in the eleven and was once again the most incisive. It seems that his hunger to eat the world is endless and his trainers appreciate it. But with the faith of the azulgrana it was not enough to find the light button. Spain kneaded the ball with insulting superiority but it was a completely sterile domain. He did not get to glimpse the Czech goal even remotely. Vaclik did not have to stop a single ball in the entire first half, barely disturbed by the deflected shots by Sarabia and Eric Garcia over the half hour mark. What poor baggage.
Nothing worked in Spain. There was no pressure or recoveries, and with the ball the lack of fluidity in the movement was alarming. They were, without a doubt, the worst football minutes of the Luis Enrique era, who did not stop consulting with his assistants and writing down corrections in a notebook. But when the first half was dying Gavi invented the tie with his left foot to give air to the red and beat Ansu Fati, out of the call, for seven days as the earliest scorer in the history of the national team.
The surprising and undeserved draw did not cloud Luis Enrique, who started Ferran Torres in the second half and shortly after opted for a triple substitution. The azulgrana was finer than on Thursday and tested Vaclik with a heel, but it was Asensio’s entry that really became pure oxygen for Spain, denying the 1-2 by the post in the Madridista’s first action, which he brazenly took the relief of Gavi as the mainstay of Spain.
Those of Luis Enrique seemed to have finally deciphered the game and a more recognizable scenario was drawn. Czechia noticed it and hardened the fight, openly when it came to kicking. But if Spain had equalized when they did not deserve it, the locals were also able to see the door when they had disappeared from the field. Of course, not all the credit was his, because Kuchta’s precious Vaseline would have been impossible without the blunder of Eric Garcia, who continues to sow doubts wherever he goes.
Despite the blow, the national team did not lose faith, finding the prize at the last minute. Asensio’s cross was finished off as best he could by Iñigo Martínez with his head, first hitting the crossbar and then finding the goal. The draw became a lesser evil for Spain, who will now travel to Switzerland in search of their first victory in this Nations.
2 – Czech Republic: Vaclik; Coufal, Zima, Brabec, Mateju, Zeleny (Jankto, m.24 (Havel, m.46)); Sadílek, Soucek; Pesek (Hlozek, m.59), Kuchta (Jurecka, m.78) and Lingr (Cerny, m.59).
2 – Spain: Unai Simon; Carvajal, Eric García, Íñigo Martínez, Marcos Alonso; Rodri (Busquets, m.62), Koke (Marcos Llorente, m.72), Gavi; Sarabia (Ferran Torres, m.46), Dani Olmo (Marco Asensio, m.62) and Raúl de Tomás (Morata, m.62).
Goals: 1-0, m.4: Pesek. 1-1, m.45 2: Gavi. 2-1, m.66: Kuchta. 2-2, m.90: Íñigo Martínez.
Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA). He admonished Coufal (92) for the Czech Republic; and Rodri (57) for Spain.
