Spain marched into the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 with an impressive 3-0 victory over Austria, producing one of their most complete performances of the tournament as Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice in a commanding display.
The European champions dominated from the opening whistle at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, controlling possession and creating chances with the slick passing and movement that has become their trademark.
Spain thought they had made the perfect start when Marc Cucurella found the net inside the opening exchanges, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
It proved only a temporary setback as Luis de la Fuente’s side continued to dictate the tempo, forcing Austria deeper into their own half.
Their persistence was rewarded nine minutes before the break when Mikel Oyarzabal calmly finished to give Spain a deserved lead. The striker’s movement and composure capped a first-half performance in which La Roja repeatedly stretched the Austrian defence.
Austria, who had impressed during the group stage to reach the knockout rounds, attempted to respond after the interval and almost found an equalizer shortly after the restart.
However, substitute Sasa Kalajdzic headed over from a promising position, a miss that proved costly.
Spain quickly reasserted their authority and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute. Full-back Pedro Porro ventured forward to score his first international goal, finishing confidently to leave Austria with a mountain to climb.
With Austria pushing forward in search of a way back into the contest, Spain remained dangerous on the counter-attack.
Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory late on with his second goal of the evening, putting the result beyond doubt and completing an emphatic win.
Spain’s dominance was reflected throughout the contest as they enjoyed the majority of possession, created a host of opportunities and rarely looked troubled defensively.
Goalkeeper Unai Simón was called into action only sparingly as Austria struggled to break down Spain’s well-organised back line.
The victory marks Spain’s first World Cup knockout win since lifting the trophy in South Africa in 2010 and reinforces their status as one of the favourites to go deep into the tournament.
For Austria, the defeat brought an encouraging World Cup campaign to an end. After returning to the global stage for the first time in nearly three decades and progressing from a competitive group, Ralf Rangnick’s side ultimately found the quality of Spain a step too far.
Spain will now carry renewed confidence into the Round of 16, where they will face Portugal after another polished display under De la Fuente as their pursuit of a second World Cup title gathered further momentum.
