Czech Republic vs Spain

Sinobo Stadium in Prague plays host to a tasty-looking UEFA Nations League Group A2 encounter between the Czech Republic and Spain.

The Czech Republic enjoyed a blistering start to the new UEFA Nations League campaign. They scored on either side of half-time to dispatch Switzerland 2-1 in their Group A2 curtain-raiser. It helped them end an underwhelming run of consecutive low-scoring draws and make it eight internationals without losing within 90 minutes (W4, D4). After securing promotion to League A last season, the Czechs are here to stay, admitted head coach Jaroslav Šilhavý after his side’s win over Switzerland. There’s plenty of reason for optimism, as the Czechs have opened the scoring in each Nations League home game to date, doing so inside the inaugural 18 minutes of play on five occasions. That being said, they’ve failed to find the net in both previous competitive home meeteings with Spain (D1, L1).

On the other hand, Spain squandered a narrow 1-0 half-time lead to draw 1-1 with fellow Iberian rivals Portugal in their Group A2 opener last time out. As a result, ‘La Furia Roja’ saw their decent four-game winning streak come to a halt. Spain’s last international defeat came in the UEFA Nations League as they lost 2-1 to France in last season’s grand final. They’ve since put together five matches without losing, conceding just 0.4 goals on average. Seeking a fifth consecutive H2H success, Luis Enrique’s lads will draw confidence from getting on the scoresheet in 15 successive outings since a goalless draw with Sweden at Euro 2020. Extending that eye-catching scoring run could grab Spain an all-important win in Prague, as their last two competitive away triumphs yielded a narrow 1-0 scoreline.