Spain booked their place in the FIFA World Cup last 16 with a convincing 3-0 victory over Austria, ending a 16-year wait for a goal in the tournament’s knockout stages.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice, while Pedro Porro added another as La Roja produced a dominant display at Los Angeles Stadium. Spain will now face either Portugal or Croatia in the next round.
After seeing an earlier goal ruled out, Oyarzabal broke the deadlock before halftime from Marc Cucurella’s cross. Porro doubled the lead with a fine header in the 66th minute, before Oyarzabal completed his brace late on.
Spain controlled the match throughout, registering 23 shots while restricting Austria to no efforts on target. Lamine Yamal was once again influential despite not getting on the scoresheet, creating several chances with his dazzling dribbling.
The victory also saw Spain record their fourth consecutive clean sheet at the tournament, with goalkeeper Unai Simón extending his impressive run of shutouts as Luis de la Fuente’s side underlined their credentials as genuine World Cup contenders.
