Martinez’s late equaliser rescues a point for Spain against the Czech Republic.
The hosts looked to impose themselves early on and quickly took advantage when Pesek tapped into an empty net.
On the other hand, Spain played at a slower tempo and looked to dominate possession.
Eventually, the pressure told just before half-time when Gavi fired in a precise, low finish.
The second half followed a similar pattern: the hosts executed a lightning-quick counter-attack with Kuchta finishing over Simon with a superb lob.
However, Spain wasn’t to be denied, and they equalised late on when Martinez headed in Asensio’s cross.
Starting lineup:
CZECH REPUBLIC (3-4-2-1): Tomas Vaclik; David Zima, Jakub Brabec, Ales Mateju; Vladimir Coufal, Michal Sadilek, Tomas Soucek, Jaroslav Zeleny; Jakub Pesek, Ondrej Lingr; Jan Kuchta.
SPAIN (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Dani Carvajal, Eric Garcia, Inigo Martinez, Marcos Alonso; Gavi, Rodrigo, Koke; Pablo Sarabia, Raul de Tomas, Dani Olmo.
Goals:
GOAL! PESEK! 1-0. The hosts take an early lead. Carvajal loses his concentration and jogs behind the defensive line, allowing Kuchta to break the offside trap and race through the ball! Kuchta and Pesek find themselves with a two-on-one against Simon, and the former rolls it to the latter, who taps it into an empty net!
GOAL! GAVI! 1-1. Spain equalises just before half-time. Rodrigo finds Gavi with a precise pass inside the box, and the midfielder takes a touch inside before placing an accurate 15-yard finish across Vaclik and into the bottom corner!
GOAL! KUCHTA! 2-1. The Czech Republic retake the lead. Cerny threads a precise through-ball forward, and Martinez misses his interception. Kuchta gambled on the mistake and streams through on goal before delightfully lobbing Simon from the edge of the box as the ball bounces elegantly into the net!
GOAL! MARTINEZ! 2-2. Spain equalises late on. The visitors work a corner short to Asensio, who swings in a dangerous cross that Martinez meets powerfully, steering a header against the underside of the bar and just about over the line!
So, what’s next?
The result means that the Czech Republic find itself second in its Nations League group on four points from two games. Spain is in third on two points.
