Yamal scored and was off at half-time, and Spain beat ten-man Czechia 3-1 in Oviedo
Lamine Yamal curled in his fourth goal in three Nations League games, and Spain held off a Czechia fightback to stay perfect in Group A3.
Oct 4, 2026
Lamine Yamal only played the first half in Oviedo, and he needed six minutes to make it count. He came in off the right, shaped the ball onto his left foot and curled it into the top corner from the edge of the box. On the touchline Luis de la Fuente put both hands on his head and turned to his bench.
Spain beat Czechia 3-1 at the Carlos Tartiere on Saturday night. Rodri added a second before half-time, Jiri Slama pulled one back with 21 minutes left, and substitute Mikel Merino made it safe in the closing minutes. It is three wins from three in the Nations League, and Spain have now gone 41 games without losing inside 90 minutes.
Four goals in three games
Yamal has scored in all three of Spain’s Nations League games this autumn, four goals in total. He is 19. The opener came after a one-two with Dani Olmo, and it was the sort of finish that makes coaches forget themselves.
“Lamine never stops surprising us, all of us,” De la Fuente said afterwards. “He is on the path to becoming a legend.”
The second goal was scruffier. Pedri’s run caused a scramble in the area, the ball broke loose, and Rodri reacted first to lash it into the roof of the net on 35 minutes. It was his first goal for Spain since Euro 2024.
De la Fuente took Yamal and Alex Baena off at half-time with Spain 2-0 up. He had said before the game that the short gap between matches meant rotating, and Pedri, Olmo and Rodri were all off before the 80th minute too. Carlos Espi, the 21-year-old Real Madrid striker called up to replace the injured Ferran Torres, was not in the matchday squad.
Czechia found a way back in
Spain’s control drifted once the changes came. “The first half went very well, but the second didn’t,” De la Fuente admitted.
Santi Denia, who coached many of these Spain players at youth level, started Lukas Ambros, Roman Macek and Matej Radosta, the three midfielders he brought into his first squad, and gave Antonin Kinsky his debut in goal. On 69 minutes Slama ran into the box unmarked, Adam Hlozek squared it, and the defender’s finish made it 2-1.
Czechia then had a second goal ruled out for a foul on Robin Le Normand. Instead of an equaliser, they finished with ten men when Ladislav Krejci was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Roberto Fernandez. Merino settled it in the 89th minute, following up after Kinsky had saved from Victor Munoz.
Denia said he was proud of his players and that the performance showed the team was on the right path. It is still three defeats from three for Czechia, and they are bottom of the group without a point.
Where the group stands
Spain lead with nine points, three clear of England, who won 7-0 in Rijeka on the same night. Croatia have three and Czechia none.
On Tuesday Spain go to Split for the return game with Croatia, and Czechia travel to Wembley to face England. A win in Split would leave Spain needing very little from their last two games to top the group. On this evidence even a half-changed Spain side is too good for most of this group, and taking Yamal and Rodri off early looks like a coach keeping his best players fresh for Split.