Cesc Fabregas has praised his former team-mate, Petr Cech, ahead of Spain’s Euro clash against the Czech Republic.

The match takes place on Monday and considering the former Arsenal and Barcelona playmaker has played both for and against the goalkeeper, he knows what to expect.

“Petr Cech is a great goalkeeper,” he said to the Spanish media.

“I’ve played against him and have been partners. For your experience, you can always trust him. He’s a great communicator for his defense, speaks many languages. It’s quiet, never seems nervous. It will be difficult to beat him.”

He added, “[Tomas] Rosicky is my friend and a very important player for them.”

Although Cesc only played with Petr for a season, it was long enough for him to know what the 34-year-old is all about.

Although Spain are technically the better team on paper, as the midfielder pointed out, Czech have enough quality to make it a decent match. Not to mention, Spain are no longer the Euro-winning team they were back in 2012. They’re now ranked sixth in the world, three places lower than a year ago. They were ranked number one from 2008 to 2013.

Czech, on the other hand, are ranked number 30, 13 places lower than in 2014. Back in 2005, they were ranked number two.

I wouldn’t rule Czech out in the slightest, in fact, I reckon it’ll be a good game.