Nations League round-up: Lamine Yamal stars as Spain see off Czechia, Scotland boss gets first win

LAMINE THE DREAM: Lamine Yamal scored a superb early goal as world champions Spain beat Czechia 3-1 in Oviedo to maintain their perfect start in the Nations League. Pic: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire.

Lamine Yamal scored a superb early goal as world champions Spain beat Czechia 3-1 in Oviedo to maintain their perfect start in the Nations League.

The 19-year-old underlined his Ballon d’Or credentials with a fine curling effort from the edge of the box in the sixth minute.

Spain captain Rodri then swept home a second in the 35th minute to put Luis de la Fuente’s side in control.

Jiri Slama pulled a goal back for Czechia with 20 minutes left before Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci was sent off for a second caution.

Substitute Mikel Merino then knocked in a late third as Spain made it three straight wins in Group A3 and extended their unbeaten run to 41 matches in all competitions.

Meanwhile Sassuolo forward Kieron Bowie broke his Scotland duck with a wonder strike to set Sebastien Pocognoli on the way to his first victory as head coach on a night of landmarks in North Macedonia for the dominant visitors.

The impressive Scots eased to a deserved 2-0 Nations League triumph in Skopje, ensuring a trip to the Balkans to cherish for captain Andy Robertson as he notched his 100th cap to move within two of record holder Sir Kenny Dalglish.

Bowie’s impressive early opener ended Scotland’s 422-minute scoring drought, and it should have been the signal for the floodgates to open as they went on to spurn several opportunities to kill off their meek hosts either side of half-time.

Pocognoli’s side eventually doubled their lead through a 69th minute penalty from John McGinn, who moved up to joint-fourth in the national team’s all-time scoring charts, alongside Lawrie Reilly on 22.

The shine was taken off an otherwise smooth night for the Scots when Scott McKenna was sent off in the closing stages for denying a goalscoring opportunity, although it paved the way for Stoke centre-back Luke Graham to come off the bench for a late debut.

Pocognoli made two changes to the side that started Tuesday’s loss to Switzerland, Stephen Welsh replacing suspended centre-back Jack Hendry and winger Ben Gannon-Doak coming in at right wing-back for Nathan Patterson.

While much had been made of the fact Scotland arrived in Skopje on a run of four games without a victory, or even a goal, since defeating Haiti in their first group-stage match at the World Cup in June, North Macedonia had not previously won a match for 13 months.

The beleaguered hosts soon found themselves on the back foot as Robertson surged forward twice inside the opening five minutes to get shots away from the angle of the box, the second of which brought a fine save from home keeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Scotland’s purposeful start was rewarded in the seventh minute.

Billy Gilmour slipped an incisive pass forward to Bowie, who produced some deft footwork to evade both of the home centre-backs before unleashing a stunning low strike from 25 yards into Dimitrievski’s bottom left-hand corner.

Robertson, whose Scotland form had become the subject of scrutiny in some quarters, looked in the mood and had registered a further two attempts at goal by the 13-minute mark.

The entry of a stray dog on to the pitch allowed the hosts a brief reprieve from the Scottish pressure they were enduring as “Pocognoli’s barmy army” rang out from the 2,500 Tartan Army footsoldiers enjoying their night on the banks of the River Vardar.

After Bowie and Gannon-Doak missed brilliant chances, North Macedonia head coach Goce Sedloski made a double substitution on the half-hour in a desperate attempt to stem the tide.

Within minutes, Bowie and Gannon-Doak both threatened again and the half-time whistle was met with jeers from the sparsely-populated home end.

Scotland continued in the ascendancy and after having a penalty awarded then overturned in the 51st minute, they were eventually given a chance to stretch their lead from the spot.

Rangers forward Bojan Miovski was deemed to have handled from a Bowie effort and McGinn made no mistake.

McKenna’s 83rd-minute dismissal for bringing down Agon Elezi after a slack Robertson pass was not enough to derail the Scots.

Elsewhere in League B, Switzerland made it three wins from three games with a 2-1 victory against Slovenia.

Zan Vipotnik gave the visitors the lead in only the second minute, but Erik Janza’s own goal quickly drew Switzerland level and Nottingham Forest’s Dan Ndoye netted the winner seven minutes before half-time.

Finally, Finland defeated Albania 2-1, Iceland maintained their unbeaten start with a 3-0 win over Bulgaria, Estonia beat Luxembourg 1-0 and Belarus were 4-0 victors against San Marino.