Gerard Pique’s late header in the dying stages of the game was enough to give the Spaniard’s all three points in their Group D opener.
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Spain’s players celebrate their goal during the Euro 2016 group D football match between Spain and Czech Republic at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse on June 13, 2016. Croatia defeated Turkey 1-0 on Sunday.
Alvaro Morata had Spain’s best first-half chance, forcing Cech into action from close-range in the first half, while Roman Hubnik turned the ball against his own post after the break.
Until defender Pique’s crucial late header, the holders were again largely ineffective in front of goal, just as they had been in their 1-0 loss to Georgia in their final warm-up game last week.
Spain’s head coach Vicente del Bosque was satisfied with his team’s performance and denied the criticism that there are problems for his striking forces.
“I liked seeing him reacting well on the bench during the game, like the rest, enjoying the team’s win”, del Bosque said.
Of all the selections available to the Republic of Ireland manager, including Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick and Wes Hoolahan was probably the most attack-minded feasible in an opening group game.
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, who defended himself against allegations in the Spanish press about his private life on Friday, started while David Silva earned his 100th cap. You have to be calm and keep going forward until you achieve what you want. We try and push and push and push, so that the defence makes a mistake in the end and we can score.
“After the first 45 minutes I told my players we had to have more patience when we had the ball”.
“I don’t see a lot of difference from when we played in the World Cup in Brazil”, Del Bosque said. It’s many years we have spent together.
The only attempt at goal from the Czech came on the stroke of half time and it was Tomas Necid who struck just on the edge of the 18-yard box with David De Gea having to grab the shot after a second attempt. “We’ve started important competitions losing and still won the title, and we’ve started others with victories but ended losing”.
It’s not unusual for a side to not create much through free-kicks, like the Czechs on Monday, but when chances dry up elsewhere, the team has to make the most of opportunities awarded to them.
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– Spain haven’t conceded a single goal in their last 600 minutes at the European Championships, the longest run in the history of the tournament.
