Spain maintained their 100% record in the 2026-27 Nations League with a hard-earned 3-1 victory over Czechia, who had captain Ladislav Krejci sent off late on.

Following England's 7-0 humilation of Croatia elsewhere in Group A3, the world champions did not have things anywhere near as easy in Oviedo, after Luis de la Fuente made nine changes to his starting lineup.

After first-half goals from Lamine Yamal and Rodri, Jiri Slama's strike got the visitors – managed by Spaniard Santi Denia – back into the contest, only for Krejci's 85th-minute dismissal and a poacher's finish from Mikel Merino to kill their hopes of a fightback. 

Yamal only needed six minutes to have an impact, as he exchanged passes with Dani Olmo, got the ball out of his feet near the right corner of the area, then curled a sumptuous effort past Antonin Kinsky.

Despite Spain dominating possession, they did not create another major chance until just beyond the half-hour mark, when Kinsky showed great reactions to deny Olmo.

But the Tottenham goalkeeper was beaten again in the 35th minute, with Rodri feeding his fellow Barcelona midfielder Olmo, continuing his run into the area, then finishing calmly when the ball deflected into his path.

Alex Baena also worked Kinsky late in the first half, but De la Fuente's withdrawal of Yamal at the interval removed some of Spain's attacking impetus, and Czechia got back into the game when Slama was slipped in by Adam Hlozek and finished unerringly across David Raya.

Czechia thought they had an unlikely equaliser in the 79th minute, as Raya spilled Krejci's looping header and Ryan Naderi prodded over the line, but Lukas Cerv was penalised for holding Robin Le Normand when the initial cross came into the area. 

Krejci was booked for dissent following that incident, having screamed in the face of referee Vassilios Fotias, and that moment proved costly as the Wolves defender then dragged Roberto Fernandez back to stop a counter-attack and was shown a second yellow card.

Victor Munoz went agonisingly close to making it 3-1, but Spain's clinching goal did arrive in the 89th minute, with the Liverpool winger involved. He kept the attack alive following Stepan Chaloupek's terrible tackle on Fernandez, and when Kinsky parried his shot, Merino was waiting to fire into the empty net.

Czechs lose their cool as Barcelona stars dominate

Despite the one-sided look of the stat sheet, with Spain accumulating 1.99 expected goals (xG) to Czechia's 0.49, outshooting their visitors by 18 to five and having a 69% possession share, this game was far from straightforward for the World Cup holders.

Czechia looked to have La Roja on the ropes when Slama's goal halved the deficit, but Krejci's loss of composure ultimately cost them. 

Ultimately, it was Spain's Barcelona stars that did the damage as they extended their record unbeaten run to 41 games and put themselves on the brink of the quarter-finals.

Yamal now has 12 goals in his last nine games for club and country (four for Spain in the Nations League, eight for Barcelona in all competitions), with a 3-1 LaLiga win over Sevilla being the only game in which he has failed to find the net in that period.

Spain's second goal was the result of a lovely combination between Rodri and Olmo, who were the only players remaining from their starting lineup the last time they faced Czechia, also in the Nations League in June 2022.