World Cup 2026: Spain sweep aside Austria to finally reach the last 16
It had been 16 years since Spain last did this. Since winning the final in South Africa, they had kept coming up short in World Cup knockout games. That run is over at last. La Roja ended it on Thursday night in Los Angeles, and they did it in style too: a 3-0 win over Austria, a place in the last 16, and now a heavyweight clash with Portugal.
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Oyarzabal strikes first, Schlager only delays the inevitable
Austria held out until the 36th minute, with Alexander Schlager already busy long before then. Lamine Yamal had tested him from a tight angle, then Mikel Oyarzabal forced another save with a driven effort. Spain’s third warning did the damage: Marc Cucurella whipped a dangerous cross in from the left, Oyarzabal darted into the middle and opened the scoring. It also snapped a strange stat, because the last Spaniard to score in a World Cup knockout tie before this was Andres Iniesta, in the 2010 final against the Netherlands.
Picked out on the left, Marc Cucurella sent a low, hard cross across the face of goal. Oyarzabal, perfectly placed in the centre, finished the move and lit up SoFi Stadium in the 36th minute. It was no throwaway goal either: no Spain player had scored in a World Cup knockout match since Andres Iniesta in that 2010 final.
Just before the break, Schlager denied Spain again. Alex Baena blasted a vicious free-kick towards the top corner, but the Austria keeper got a touch to tip it on to the bar. Austria could go in only one down. It was already close to a miracle.
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Spain never gave Austria a way back in
The pattern did not change after the restart. Austria needed a surge, a Spain mistake or just a touch of chaos to get back into it. They got none of that. La Roja kept the ball, kept moving and never looked close to losing control.
Pedro Porro eventually made the game safe. From Baena’s precise delivery, the full-back rose to head beyond Schlager and put Spain 2-0 up. Game over, really. But Oyarzabal still had time for one more. With a minute left in normal time, he met another Cucurella cross to complete his brace.
Spain leave Los Angeles with qualification wrapped up, three goals scored and none conceded so far in the tournament. Next comes something a lot tastier. On Monday in Dallas, La Roja face Portugal for a place in the quarter-finals. A neighbour they know inside out, sure, but one that should make life a lot tougher.
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Photo credit: Frederic J. Brown / AFP
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