And suddenly Spain had a tough time against the weakest rival in the group, playing at home, scoring in the fifth minute and going into the break with a two-goal advantage and another couple of very clear chances. The world champion had a silly time because of herself, basically for leaving the game early, for disconnecting from the night and for being left with an unrecognizable team on the pitch.
Denaturalized, disconnected, she flirted with displeasure, which did not finally materialize because a pinch of luck accompanied her in the last stretch. In the absence of next Tuesday's game in Croatia, they are fully on track, nine out of nine, and are almost qualified for the quarterfinals. But yesterday that sum was produced in a lackluster, insipid way, something that should probably be forgiven to those who have been going from joy to joy for three years. Spain was not Spain, and still won. Well, welcome. He has the right.
The most uncertain thing in this team's games happens almost before and after, because during the matter it is more or less clear. There are nuances, all of them derived from the opposition or non-opposition that the rival presents. In this case, in Oviedo, the Czech Republic offered no resistance until they suddenly believed they could equalize in the final stretch. Santi Denia's project is not going to be measured, of course, by matches against Spain.
A little placement, a little enthusiasm and nothing more. They were the only problems that Spain encountered, a Spain unknown in some sections of the countryside. Luis de la Fuente made nine changes, something unusual in his career that went wrong in his debut (that famous Scotland match in March 2023) and that he had not repeated in an official match except in the Euro Cup, but on that occasion with the excuse that in the third game of the group stage, against Albania, everything was resolved.
For a change he even changed the goalkeeper, leaving Unai Simón to give way to David Raya, who of course had little to do. The night, then, put very new people on the field. Fresneda, the right back of Sporting de Portugal, and Roberto Fernández, the forward of Espanyol, suddenly found themselves in the champion's eleven. In a game without demands they did not clash, which is something. The winger had enough to interpret Lamine, while the forward did have a slightly worse time trying to interpret the movements of his teammates, something that is not easy and that highlights the importance of a guy like Oyarzabal.
In any case, the night will not be useful to draw too reliable conclusions. Partly because, as in all games in this series, Lamine had already scored before starting. Well, it was in the fifth minute, but it is to understand us. He did it with his favorite play, the one that almost always worked before and less so now. He hooked the ball in the corner of the area, cut inside and put it in the opponent's corner.
That's where Spain's monologue began, very comfortable with the ball and, despite occasional difficulties in finding passes, little by little it was amassing options. Apart from Rodri's goal, Olmo had another couple of goals that could have easily turned into a rout.
At half-time, Lamine and Baena stayed in the locker room, the only two who had repeated the game in Seville on Tuesday. And that, whether you like it or not, ended up denaturalizing the team, since Yeremy and Víctor Muñoz run more, but play less. Also a product of the ease in which the night seemed to settle, Spain definitely relaxed. He started playing walking, without enthusiasm, and just after the coach tried to change that by bringing in the energy of Fermín and Merino, the Czech Republic sneaked into the game.
He did it thanks to a goal from Slama after a play in which the team was unable to cut off a succession of passes that were nothing like the other Saturday either. They allowed the left back to reach the front and put a little spice into the matter. The question, with 20 minutes left, was whether Spain would be able to get back into the game. Because what was clear is that he was gone.
He didn't come back. In fact, the Czechs tied, although the referee annulled the goal due to a previous foul that, well... But Spain did not return. Denaturalized and disconnected from the party, she did not return. And he didn't have any major problems because with six minutes left the rival was left with one less. Mikel Merino, almost in the epilogue, made up the result a little.
