Spain visits Prague tonight holding a perfect record in the UEFA Nations League, facing a Czech side looking to avoid relegation.
The Czech team is managed by Santi Denia and sits at the bottom of the group without a point.
La Roja arrives at the Letná stadium for the 20:45 CET kickoff with 12 points from four matches, leading Group A3 ahead of second-placed England. Luis de la Fuente’s squad can secure the group leadership tonight with a victory if England fails to beat Croatia, according to eldiarioalerta.com. Spain has already secured qualification for the quarterfinals scheduled for March.
Spain enters the fixture on a 43-match unbeaten streak. The team trained at the Letná stadium on Wednesday in temperatures hovering around two degrees Celsius, preparing for a Czech team positioned at the bottom of the group without a point. Spain enters the match as World and European champions.
“Lo más inmediato es lo más importante,” Luis de la Fuente told EFE regarding the upcoming fixture. “El partido de Chequia es muy difícil y muy importante para nosotros. Primero hay que hacer los deberes, tener buenas sensaciones.”
The squad travels in white kits aiming to secure the group lead before Sunday’s final group match against England at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid.
De la Fuente manages several squad absences for this international window. Lamine Yamal remains in Barcelona due to fluid and inflammation in his knee, while Mikel Oyarzabal stayed home with a viral illness. Rodri Hernández, Dani Olmo, and Eric García also miss the fixture through injuries, alongside Ander Barrenetxea who requires surgery and will be sidelined for several months.
To complete the squad following these unforeseen issues, the coach called up Víctor Muñoz, Jorge de Frutos, Jacobo Ramón, Marc Roca, and Álvaro Valles, with the latter three receiving their first international call-ups.
Martín Zubimendi steps into the defensive midfield role in place of Rodri. The predicted starting lineup features Unai Simón in goal, backed by a back four of Pedro Porro, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí, and Marc Cucurella.
Fabián Ruiz, Álex Baena, and Fermín López complete the midfield structure behind Ferran Torres and Yeremy Pino. The Czech Republic’s predicted starting lineup features Kovar in goal; Coufal, Zima, Krejci, Chaloupek, and Jurasek in defense; Sadilek, Soucek, Kral, and Provod in midfield; and Hlozek in attack.
Spain holds a three-point advantage over England with two games remaining in the group stage. A victory for La Roja combined with an English draw or loss against Croatia secures first place mathematically before Sunday’s showdown. The same mathematical certainty applies if Spain draws in Prague and England loses to Croatia.
Referee Nikola Dabanovic from Montenegro officiates the match at Letná Stadium. Following tonight’s contest, the Spanish squad prepares for the final group fixture scheduled for Sunday in Madrid.
