Spain extend record run to 40 but injuries expose a thinning attack

Spain’s 3-1 victory against Czechia in Oviedo on Saturday was a match of two distinct narratives. On the surface, it was another controlled step in a record-breaking sequence: 40 matches unbeaten, a perfect Nations League Group 3 start, and goals from Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Mikel Merino. Beneath that, however, an injury list that now includes Nico Williams and Ferran Torres is quietly reshaping the question around Luis de la Fuente’s side. It is no longer simply how far the run can go, but whether the squad has the depth to keep it going when key attackers are missing.

Yamal needed only six minutes to bend a left-footed finish into the top-left corner from the right edge of the area, a moment of individual clarity that set the tone. Rodri doubled the lead 10 minutes before the break, poking home after Dani Olmo’s deflected ball fell kindly inside the six-yard box. The underlying numbers reflected Spain’s grip: 69 per cent possession, 18 shots to Czechia’s five, and an expected-goals tally of 1.99 against 0.49. Five big chances were created to the visitors’ none, and Czechia did not win a single corner.

Yet the scoreline tightened in the second half. Jiri Slama pulled one back in the 69th minute, driving across David Raya after Adam Hlozek’s pass, and Czechia thought they had equalised 10 minutes later when Resat Naderi tapped in a rebound. The goal was disallowed for a foul on Robin Le Normand, and Merino’s late strike restored the two-goal cushion. The final xG overperformance of 1.01 – Spain scored three times from chances worth 1.99 – was a sharp departure from the 0.0 average across their earlier 2026 matches. One game does not make a trend, but it hints at a finishing efficiency that may not be repeatable every night, especially with the creative burden shifting.

That burden is heavier because Williams (thigh) and Torres (ankle) were unavailable. The research brief notes both are out of the squad, and their absence removes two players who stretch defences in different ways. Without them, the attack leaned even more on Yamal’s ability to manufacture something from little, and on Olmo’s movement between the lines. The data does not tell us how chance creation evolved minute by minute, so any claim of a second-half drop would be speculation. What is clear is that the overall shot volume and big-chance count were healthy, but the margin felt narrower once Slama scored.

A small-sample comparison adds context. In 2022, Luis Enrique oversaw three friendlies with a perfect record and 3.0 points per game. De la Fuente’s four friendlies in 2026 have returned 2.0 points per game, with two wins and two draws. That is not a verdict on either manager – the sample is tiny and the opponents differ – but it does frame a question: is the current squad, thinned by injuries, less able to convert control into consistent victories than the group Enrique had at his disposal? The Nations League results so far say no, but the friendlies suggest a slight softening.

That pedigree means nobody is writing Spain off. Still, the next international window will test whether the replacements for Williams and Torres can supply the creativity that turns 69 per cent possession into goals. For now, the streak survives, but the squad’s depth is being asked a question it has not yet answered.

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