The defending European champions from Spain kick off their 2016 tournament as they take on a pesky Czech Republic side on Monday.
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De Gea was making his senior tournament debut despite getting embroiled in an off-the-field controversy just three days before the game, when his name appeared in a police investigation into a Spanish pornographic filmmaker.
But his opposition counterpart, Petr Cech, almost stole the spotlight, producing a string of superb saves that kept the Czech Republic in the match. In other words, life is bliss for the Spaniard, and given his country’s recent track record, why wouldn’t he be confident? Czech Republic seemed to have abandoned any idea of attack at that moment, with the pressure mounting from Spain. Here are a few things to know about the two goalkeepers.
De Gea’s situation may prompt Del Bosque to stick with Iker Casillas in goal, while Alvaro Morata leads the race to start in attack after overcoming a thigh injury.
Spain had three-quarters of the possession up until the interval and played most of the game in the Czech half, but still did not have the wit or invention to break down their more limited opponents. It’s very important to have a general plan of what we’re going to do.
With that in mind and with the fact that Spain haven’t lost their four meetings with the Czech Republic, it was hardly surprising that Vicente del Bosque’s side dominated the opening exchanges.
With 11 goals in 39 worldwide appearances, striker Tomas Necid has a goal ratio of just under a goal every three games. Morata, scorer of Juventus’ winning goal in this season’s Coppa Italia against AC Milan, has proven himself as a forward who is good in the air and with his feet, netting seven goals this season. “We’ll see what happens”.
De Gea was a spectator for most part, and he had to wait until just before half-time to make a save as Necid was onside when he collected a through ball near the edge of the box, his shot then gathered by the goalkeeper.
“If you keep insisting with this intensity, the goal will come”, Spain defender Sergio Ramos said.
The Spain vs. Czech Republic match will kickoff at 9 a.m. ET and will be shown live on ESPN3.
He pushed away, punched and caught risky shots, giving hope to the Czech fans that the team could produce a result against the European champion. He called it tough, but praised his teammates for their efforts. “Unfortunately their talent and quality is huge and they managed to find the goal”.
“If only we had a bit more luck”, Czech Republic coach Pavel Vrba said.
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“We have to think about the goalkeeper situation for the whole team”, he continued.
