Spain maintain perfect record as Zubimendi targets improvement before England test

Spain continued their winning run with a valuable victory in the Czech capital, preserving their perfect record and strengthening their position at the top of the group.

The world champions produced another composed performance to underline their ambition of competing for both the World Cup and the Nations League, despite facing a Czech Republic side capable of causing problems from set-pieces.

Martin Zubimendi was central to Spain’s success in Prague, starting in place of the injured Rodri and controlling midfield while wearing a protective face mask.

“We knew we had to play a very important match and that we needed to be extremely serious,” Zubimendi told Spanish newspaper Sport. “They had chances, but we turned the result in our favour.”

The match presented a particular challenge for the Basque midfielder, who is still adapting to playing with the mask. He said the experience had been more comfortable than expected.

“It went better than I thought,” said Zubimendi. “I am starting to get used to it, playing minutes and adapting to the situation. It is not always easy when you join up with the national team, play only a few minutes and then face a strong opponent such as the Czech Republic.”

Spain’s main weakness was their defending at set-pieces, an area in which the Czech Republic repeatedly looked dangerous. Zubimendi said the issue had already been discussed before the final whistle.

“We were just talking about that,” he said. “If there is one thing we need to improve from this match, it is set-pieces. That is what we need to work on.”

Alex Baena also enjoyed a notable evening for Spain. The Atletico Madrid player opened the scoring and again demonstrated the form he has regularly shown at international level, strengthening his case for De la Fuente’s trust.

“We controlled the game very well,” Baena said. “At certain moments, we had many opportunities to score from set-pieces and we could have scored a second goal.”

He added: “We were calm on the pitch and controlled the match. There was some hesitation because of their set-piece chances, but we played well and we are happy with the victory.”

Baena’s goal came from a penalty, and he admitted he had been surprised when he saw who was taking responsibility for the spot-kick.

“When I saw the penalty taker, I was surprised, but I am happy to help the team by scoring,” he said. “Ferran was on the pitch, Fabian was there and so was I. Any of us can take a penalty.”

Spain’s next assignment is against England in Madrid, with the meeting set to determine which side finishes top of the group. Victory in Prague has lifted Spain’s confidence as they prepare for that contest, while their emerging players continue to demonstrate they can handle responsibility in Rodri’s absence even with Zubimendi playing in a mask.