Two goals from striker Adrian Lopez gave Spain a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic and England played out a goalless draw with Ukraine in Group B at the European Under-21 championship on Wednesday.
The Czech's unbeaten record, which they maintained all through the qualifiers, came to an abrupt end as the Deportivo La Coruna player struck in each half in the Danish town of Viborg.
After he opened the scoring in the 27th minute, the Czechs missed their best chance to get back into the game when Tomas Pekhart failed to add to the nine goals he scored in qualifying by firing over the bar.
Adrian then struck again two minutes after the break to put the Spaniards in pole position in Group B.
England, who drew 1-1 with Spain in their first game, had a chance to effectively put Ukraine out of the competition as the two teams met in the second game of the day in Herning.
Daniel Sturridge almost broke the deadlock as he thundered a shot off the Ukrainian crossbar from distance in the first half but despite decent chances for both teams, neither could find a way through.
The result leaves third-placed England a point behind their next opponents the Czechs, who beat Ukraine in their first game.
Bottom side Ukraine also play Spain in the final round of group games on Sunday with their chances of a semi-final berth looking unlikely.
Group A's final group matches take place on Saturday with Switzerland out in front.
