Spain goals: Oyarzabal (36, 89), Porro (66) advanced to the Round of 16 of the as two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro's first for his country secured a convincing victory over in Los Angeles.
Spain’s success was their first in the knockout rounds of the World Cup since their triumph in South Africa in 2010 – and their reward is a Round of 16 tie in Dallas on 6 July against the winners of the .
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.
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.
Austria substitute Sasa Kalajdzic had their best chance a minute after his introduction on the hour but could not keep his header down from Marcel Sabitzer’s cross.
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 big teams turn up when their presence is needed ... I think today we’ve seen a great game. I’m happy because in all aspects we’ve been almost perfect – but we have to keep improving. Every match now is going to be very difficult. In the last 16, the opponents are now even more demanding … You can always improve and on top of that, it’s what this team demands. These players always want more and more. [Oyarzabal] showed the footballing potential he has – and the rest of his team-mates exactly the same. They played an extraordinary match.” Luis de la Fuente, Spain coach, speaking to RTVE
"I'm happy to help the team and to get through another round. [It was] a difficult game. We knew it'd be difficult as they're a very physical team. But we've had a very good day." Mikel Oyarzabal, Spain forward
"For the first 20-25 minutes we were OK but after the first break, I think they [Spain] changed a bit and then it became more difficult for us. They are very strong with the ball. They have a lot of the ball and after 90 minutes it’s difficult to [just] run after the ball. They have players who have a lot of quality and are very dangerous.” David Alaba, Austria defender, speaking to DAZN
Sources: FIFA Official · Sky Sports
