TOULOUSE, France (AP) — Gerard Pique finally broke down the Czech Republic’s stubborn defense with a goal in the 87th minute to give Spain a 1-0 victory in the opening match of its European Championship title defense on Monday.
Pique ran behind the defenders and calmly headed the ball into the net after a well-placed left-flank cross by Andres Iniesta to give Spain the Group D victory.
The two-time defending champions had created a series of scoring chances throughout the match at the Stadium de Toulouse but looked set to being denied victory by a brilliant performance from Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech.
The Czechs had a great chance to break the deadlock in the 65th minute but Cesc Fabregas saved Spain with a goal-line clearance after a header by Theodor Gebre Selassie.
The result left Spain and Croatia atop Group D with three points each. Croatia defeated Turkey 1-0 on Sunday.
La Roja controlled possession and was on attack most of the time but couldn’t break down the Czechs’ resistance until Pique’s late header.
Its first good chance came in the 16th minute when David Silva’s cross found Alvaro Morata inside the area, but the Juventus striker had his close-range shot stopped by a reflex save by Cech. Morata threatened again in the 29th with a low shot just tipped wide by the goalkeeper, who made other good saves after shots by Jordi Alba and Silva before the break.
The Czechs barely threatened Spain goalkeeper David De Gea until Gebre Selassie’s header. The team’s lone chance in the first half came when Tomas Necid’s shot drew a save by De Gea in injury time.
It was Spain’s first win in the opening match of a major tournament since beating Russia 4-1 at Euro 2008. It had lost to Switzerland in the 2010 World Cup, drawn Italy in Euro 2012 and lost to the Netherlands in the 2014 World Cup.
Spain won the last two European Championships but is trying to redeem itself from a disappointing early elimination in the World Cup in Brazil, when it arrived as the favorite but couldn’t make it out of the group stage.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.