Pique hails Iniesta quality
Spain edged to a narrow win over Czech Republic, with Gerard Pique thankful to Andres Iniesta for setting up the late winner.
Gerard Pique paid tribute to the quality of Andres Iniesta after his club and international team-mate set up his winning goal for Spain against Czech Republic.
The defending champion opened its Euro 2016 campaign in Group D with a 1-0 victory on Monday after the Barcelona centre-back scored his first goal at a major tournament with three minutes remaining.
Pique rose to head in a floating pass from Iniesta, who was named man of the match after a display that saw him create five chances and make a match-leading 77 passes in the opposition half.
The 29-year-old felt Spain had managed the game superbly and praised their refusal to get frustrated despite the long wait to find a winner.
"What a pass — what quality Iniesta has," Pique said. "I was lucky to score, but the whole team was phenomenal.
"I think we played extremely well, we controlled the game very well, but the ball would not go in.
"We didn't lose our cool. We tried to attack with order and make the pitch as big as possible. We created many chances until we reached their goal.
"We wanted to win and knew it was very important to start by picking up all three points."
Spain is back in action against Turkey on Saturday (AEST) as it continues its pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive continental title.
