Los Angeles, July 3: Spain advanced to the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 as two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro’s first for his country secured a convincing victory over Austria.
Spain’s success was their first in the knockout rounds of the World Cup since their triumph in South Africa in 2010. In the Round of 16 tie, they will face the winners of the Portugal-Croatia match in Dallas on July 7.
Lamine Yamal set the tone early with a shot on goal in the first minute, and the European champions’ threat grew as the half progressed. Marc Cucurella thought he had put Spain in front from a corner kick, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
Oyarzabal broke the deadlock after 36 minutes, when Cucurella supplied the low ball from the left and the Basque frontman steered a first-time shot into the corner for his third goal of these finals, reports FIFA.
La Roja were close to doubling their lead before the break as Alex Baena’s free-kick struck the crossbar and Yamal forced another save from Schlager in the aftermath.
For Austria, chances were scarce. Michael Gregoritsch failed to connect with a Marcel Sabitzer cross at 0-0 while substitute Sasa Kalajdzic could not keep his header down from another Sabitzer ball moments after his introduction on the hour.
Instead, a header at the other end secured Spain’s progress, Baena crossing from the left and Pedro Porro arriving to nod in.
After David Alaba had blocked a Yamal shot on the line, Spain got a third goal to reflect their superiority as Oyarzabal slid in his second from another Cucurella cross.
The clean sheet for Unai Simon was his fifth in successive matches at the World Cup (dating back to December 2022 when Spain drew 0-0 with Morocco before losing on a penalty shootout), and it equalled Walter Zenga’s record for Italy in 1990.
Additionally, Simon has now gone 519 minutes without conceding a goal in World Cup matches, beating Zenga’s all-time record of 517 minutes from 1990.The emphatic victory underlined why Spain remain among the favourites to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy. Combining disciplined defending with fluid attacking football, Luis de la Fuente’s side once again demonstrated the depth, composure and tactical maturity that have defined their campaign so far.
Having ended a long wait for a knockout-stage victory at the World Cup, Spain will now turn their attention to an even sterner challenge in the Round of 16, where either Portugal or Croatia await. With key players such as Mikel Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal and Marc Cucurella producing influential performances, and goalkeeper Unai Simón rewriting the record books with his remarkable shutout streak, La Roja appear to be gathering momentum at just the right time.
If they can maintain this blend of defensive solidity and attacking flair, Spain will believe they have every chance of adding a second World Cup crown to the title they won in South Africa 16 years ago. (AP)
