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Lamine Yamal continued his superb scoring form as Spain beat Czechia 3-1 in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday, strengthening the Barcelona forward’s bid for the Ballon d’Or later this month.
The world champions moved three points clear of England at the top of Group A3 after Thomas Tuchel’s side thrashed Croatia 7-0 earlier in Rijeka.
Yamal opened the scoring in the sixth minute before captain Rodri Hernandez doubled Spain’s lead. Jiri Slama pulled one back for Czechia with 20 minutes remaining, but Mikel Merino sealed Spain’s victory late in the match.
Czechia’s hopes were further damaged when Ladislav Krejci was sent off.
The victory extended Spain’s unbeaten run to 41 matches, including their World Cup final victory over Argentina in July.
Yamal, who scored in the second minute of Spain’s opening two group matches against England and Croatia, struck in the sixth minute against Czechia.
He became the first player to score within the opening 10 minutes of three consecutive men’s international matches.
“They are well-drilled; I thought it would be one of the hardest games, and that’s how it was,” Rodri told Spanish television after Spain secured their third win in three group matches.
“It was tricky but we got some chances. There are some matches in which you can’t generate that much, but the team was able to manage the match.”
Rodri scored his first goal for Spain in more than two years.
“It’s always special to score for the national team. I’d not been scoring many goals; let’s see if I’ve found that dynamic – it’s important, we all have to chip in with the goals,” he said.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente made several changes from Tuesday’s win over Croatia, handing international debuts to full-back Ivan Fresneda and striker Roberto Fernandez.
