Barcelona defender Gerard Pique headed a late victor as defending champions Spain overcame a resolute and determined Czech Republic 1-0 in their Group D opener in Toulouse yesterday. “But with these three points, we have a cushion [atop Group D]”.
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Spain, 2008 and 2012 European champions, were utterly dominant but looked like drawing a blank until Pique struck in Toulouse in Group D.
We created a lot of chances and we hope finishing will not be a problem. England went on to win the game 3-2 but only Holland have benefited from more own goals at the Euros than Sweden.
“We took the initiative, but we weren’t successful until the final moments”, del Bosque told reporters after the match.
“Only at the end of the tournament we will be able to say how important the first match was”, Iniesta said.
They were again grateful to De Gea just before the hour when he saved after Hubnik had prodded a low effort toward the corner.
Spain’s unbeaten streak at European Champion-ships was extended to 13 games, with 10 wins and three draws.
Tomas Rosicky may well be a free agent following his release from Arsenal but the playmaker is a now a record holder for Czech Republic.
“I had the fortune to score the goal, but the team all played very well”.
Man of the match Iniesta also insisted Spain will not ditch their possession-based style, which saw them win the last two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, despite nearly failing to win. We tried to attack with order and make the pitch as big as possible.
But in the second half with a cross to the back post picking out Barcelona team-mate Pique he made sure Spain won their first game at a tournament for the first time under Del Bosque.
“We haven’t done too bad in the last few years with this style”, said Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque, who has kept the same formula despite having to revamp the Spanish squad after several top players began to fade.
That was not the end of the drama, with De Gea making a pivotal stop from Vladimir Darida in stoppage-time as Spain breathed a huge sigh of relief. We could have scored ourselves, we had chances to score – which doesn’t often happen against Spain. “We played at our max level and it’s a shame to not get a point at least”.
“They had chances, but that’s the way we play”.
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The Spaniards began the second half the same way they ended the first and it was Alvaro Morata who almost forced an own goal from the Czech defence man just a minute into the half.
