Lamine Yamal maintained his impressive scoring run as Spain defeated the Czech Republic 3-1 in their Nations League Group A3 encounter on Saturday.
The victory moved the world champions three points ahead of England at the top of the group, after Thomas Tuchel’s team thrashed Croatia 7-0 earlier in Rijeka.
Spain took control early, with Yamal and Rodri Hernandez finding the net before Jiri Slama reduced the deficit with 20 minutes remaining.
Mikel Merino later sealed Spain’s victory after Czech defender Ladislav Krejci was sent off, with the result extending Spain’s unbeaten run to 41 matches, including their World Cup final victory over Argentina in July.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente made several changes to the team that defeated Croatia on Tuesday, handing debuts to full-back Ivan Fresneda and striker Roberto Fernandez.
However, Yamal once again proved to be the standout performer, continuing a remarkable run of goalscoring form.
The 19-year-old winger, who scored within the opening two minutes of Spain’s first two matches against England and Croatia, needed six minutes to open the scoring against the Czech Republic.
Yamal produced an outstanding finish from the right side of the box, curling the ball into the top corner after creating enough space to shoot.
The goal was Yamal’s 11th in his last eight appearances for club and country, further strengthening his reputation as a major contender for the Ballon d’Or.
Rodri doubled Spain’s advantage after 35 minutes, firing into the top corner after the ball fell favourably to him inside the box.
De la Fuente substituted Yamal at half-time to allow the Barcelona youngster to rest ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Croatia.
With Yamal off the pitch, the intensity of the match dropped in the second half, allowing the Czech Republic to push forward.
Slama pulled one back for the visitors with a low finish across Spain goalkeeper David Raya after being played through by Adam Hlozek.
Raya was then fortunate to escape punishment after losing possession with a poor pass while outside his goal, although the Czech Republic failed to take advantage.
The goalkeeper later spilled the ball, allowing Ryan Naderi to score, but the effort was ruled out for a foul on Robin Le Normand.
The Czech Republic’s attempt to mount a comeback suffered another setback when Krejci received a second yellow card for pulling back Fernandez and was sent off.
Liverpool winger Victor Munoz missed an opportunity when he prodded the ball wide before Merino completed Spain’s victory in the closing stages with a close-range finish.