Toulouse: Reigning champions Spain left it late but Gerard Pique's 87th-minute header earned them a deserved 1-0 victory over a dogged Czech Republic in their Euro 2016 Group D opener on Monday. Pique headed in Andres Iniesta's "incredible" cross to give Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech no chance after he had made several fine saves to put his side within sight of an unlikely draw.

Cech reacted well to deny Alvaro Morata and David Silva in the first half while Czech defender Roman Hubnik deflected Morata's shot against his own post. Spain were given a fright when a stretching Hubnik forced a save from David De Gea and Cesc Fabregas made a goalline clearance to keep out Theodor Gebre Selassie's header.

But Pique's late intervention ensured the champions began with a victory to join Croatia on three points, a result which delighted King Felipe VI who congratulated the players after the match.

"We struggled a bit during the first half and we'd already had a lot of chances," Pique said. "In the second half, we were lucky to score," he added, before paying tribute to his brilliant teammate with the observation: "Iniesta's pass was incredible."

Czech Republic started aggressively, but Cech was kept busy during the first half, setting the tone of the match with stops from Morata and Silva, who was making his 100th appearance.

Spain's rhythm improved as Czech intensity dipped, and while coach Pavel Vrba's ploy of employing two full backs on the right flank to deal with Jordi Alba was initially successful, the left back began to find space.

Both Alba and Silva forced stops from Cech, while Tomas Necid struck a shot at De Gea before half time.

"I think we played well," Pique continued. "We controlled the match but the ball just didn't want to go in."

"We took the initiative throughout the match," added Spain coach Vicente del Bosque. "We dominated."

The Czechs swapped their aggressive approach for more disciplined containment after the break, although Morata's cross forced Hubnik into a deflected error which beat Cech but bounced back off the post.

Vrba's side also served warning that they were capable of extending their opponents' miserable run of failing to win any of their opening tournament matches since 2008 with Hubnik and Gebre Selassie going close.

Ladislav Krejci was on hand to make a superb last-ditch tackle on substitute Thiago Alcantara as a Czech defence that conceded 14 during the qualifiers kept Spain's wealth of attacking talent at bay. Del Bosque introduced Aritz Aduriz for Morata, but it was an unlikely candidate, Pique, who ultimately secured the winning start for the champions.

Coach Vicente del Bosque felt the holders were always in control and bristled a little when it was suggested they should score more. "Everyone wants to score more but we haven't been too bad in the last few years with this style," he said. "We have the responsibility to win and not just play nicely. Now we're obviously a bit more optimistic about the future than if we'd drawn."

The often lugubrious coach repeatedly refused to be drawn into praising individual players, with the exception of one he had left out of the team.

"Iker has been exceptional," Del Bosque said when asked about how record caps holder Iker Casillas felt about De Gea playing in goal instead of him. "It's not about individuals," was his response to invitations to praise goalscorer Pique or Man of the match Andres Iniesta.

Czech coach Pavel Vrba set a target of four points from the remaining games against Croatia, on Friday, and then Turkey on June 21. "That should be enough to qualify," he said.

Although pleased at the way his side defended, he wanted the Czechs to do more in possession and was disappointed not to have achieved more. "After the first 45 minutes I told my players we had to have more patience when we had the ball," he said.

"But the quality of Spain is at another level to us. Spanish football is the best in Europe, we can see that in their clubs, in the Champions League and Europa League."

In Paris, Sweden needed an embarrassing own goal from Ireland to share a 1-1 draw in their Group E opener at the Stade de France. The better side for most of the game, Ireland wasted a few chances before midfielder Wes Hoolahan surprised Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson with a half-volley from a cross by Seamus Coleman early in the second half.

Sweden levelled after 71 minutes when centre back Ciaran Clark headed a Zlatan Ibrahimovic centre into his own net, leaving both sides facing a struggle to emerge from a tough group.