CALIFORNIA: Mikel Oyarzabal’s brace propelled Spain into the FIFA World Cup 2026 last 16 with a thumping 3-0 win over Austria at the Los Angeles Stadium on Friday.
Oyarzabal scored twice, while Pedro Porro also got on the scoresheet late in the match, helping in sealing La Roja’s first knockout win since 2010.
Luis de la Fuente’s men remained dominant right from the onset, as evidenced by their 64.5 per cent of the ball possession. Austria failed to test Spain’s defence, with goalkeeper Unai Simón not required to make a single save, while his Austrian counterpart was forced to make six.
After a testing first 35 minutes, Spain’s attacking play paid off as Oyarzabal converted a Marc Cucurella’s low-driven cross from the left to score his third goal of the tournament.
Spain had looked set to open the scoring much earlier, but Marc Cucurella’s close-range goal was disallowed due to a foul by one of the Spain players on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager as the corner was delivered.
At half-time, the scoreline remained 1-0, with Austria looking less threatening.
After the break, Spain picked up where they left off and kept attacking the post. In the meantime, Austria made two substitutions in the 60th minute with Marko Arnautovic and Sasa Kalajdzic replacing Gregoritsch and Schmid.
Sasa Kalajdzic made an immediate impact in the next minute after coming on the field, after missing a chance of heading Sabitzer’s cross, which went onto the roof of the net.
But Pedro Porro’s maiden international goal in the 66th minute ensured of Spain playing in the last 16. The 26-year-old managed to finish with a simple header after taking a cross from Alex Baena to score his first international goal.
Yamal, who had been impressive without a goal, was substituted by Gavi in the 86th minute before Oyarzabal’s second goal finished things off.
Spain has now kept their four consecutive clean sheets and will face either Croatia or Portugal in the Round of 16.
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