Spain reacts in time against the Czech Republic and heads into the Euro Cup (3-1) | Soccer | Sports

The scare that Spain received this Tuesday in El Plantío, in Burgos, against the Czech Republic (3-1) lasted almost 60 minutes in the second qualifying match to advance to the 2024 Euro Cup. Against a much inferior rival, in a clash that mere bureaucracy was presumed, Montse Tomé’s team saw how the Czechs choked them in the first half, during which they managed to blur the purposeful football of the Red, confused with the ball, and took the lead in the second. In the 56th minute, after a throw-in, an opponent that Spain had beaten—and many times thrashed—in the last seven meetings, the Czech team took the lead with a great shot from Sonntagova to the left corner of Misa Rodríguez . The response was imminent, with a formidable header from María Méndez in a corner taken by Alexia Putellas, which was followed by two more goals from Jenni Hermoso and Mariona Caldentey. Three goals in 12 minutes to change the face of a match that had become very ugly and in which, above all, Spain was unable to combine with the ball and display its game.

The captain of the Czech Republic, the Sevilla player Klára Cahynová, was bluffing when she told the newspaper Brand that his team only had to throw the bus against Spain and hope that they were not right. In El Plantío, the Czech team did the opposite. Against a Red team that was waiting for a rival in a low block – Montse Tomé even opted for a 3-4-3 formation at the start – the Czechs took the field without a single complex, pressured Spain’s release of the ball to the opposing area and surprised to the world champions with such an aggressive and well-conducted intensity that it led to a string of constant inaccuracies, overcome in almost all the duels in the first half.

Spanish football was so barren that in the first half only Lucía García came close to scoring. The Manchester United forward missed a one-on-one with Votikova after a fantastic filtered pass from Alexia Putellas on his return to the starting lineup for La Roja after his latest injury. The Czechs had previously had a clear chance on a lateral set piece that fell to the captain on the edge of the area. Cahynová hit the ball, which bounced off Irene Paredes and bounced to Dubcova a few meters from Misa Rodríguez, but the Milan attacker missed the opportunity by sending it wide over the crossbar.

The script of the match was going so wrong for Spain that Tomé changed the scheme at half-time. The coach returned to the defense of four. The commitment to a line of three, with Ona Batlle, Irene Paredes and María Méndez, did not work to make the team progress with the ball and create superiority, and Olga Carmona came on for Eva Navarro.

The Czech goal and the change in system spurred Spain on. As soon as the goal was received, a combination between Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putellas ended with a shot by Lucía García that sent Votikova into the corner in a great stretch. María Méndez scored with a header on that corner kick. From then on, Spain opened the field, began to grease its football and the combinations completely dismantled the Czech defense.

Four minutes after the tie, Mariona Caldentey received between the lines, a few meters from the area, and filtered a fantastic ball for Jenni Hermoso, who dropped to the ground and finished with the first touch with her left leg to get around the goalkeeper and pocket the ball In the net. The roles were reversed a few moments later, when it was Jenni who handed the ball to the Barça attacker in the left zone of the center of the area. Mariona controlled, changed direction to set up a Czech defense and calmly put the ball to Votikova’s left post.

With the score 3-1, Spain was a much more recognizable team. In the final stretch of the match, the lack of aim of Salma Paralluelo, who entered the second half to replace Lucía García, Athenea del Castillo and Vicky López (replaced Alexia) prevented a major defeat against the Czech Republic, a national team who has never played in the final phase of an international championship. With the victory, the world champions are now approaching the Euro Cup. They are first in the group with two wins – and the first two qualify directly for the tournament -, the same six points as Denmark, the great rival of the qualifying phase and whom they will face next May.

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