Spain achieved their first knockout win in the FIFA World Cup since the 2010 final in South Africa, demolishing Austria 3-0 via goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. They proved why, despite missing a few key players, they are amongst the top candidates to win the 2026 World Cup.
The reigning European champions had gone through a fairly unassuming group stage, drawing 0-0 with Cape Verde and thrashing Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Atlanta. Spain then edged Uruguay 1-0 in Guadalajara, a match which saw Nico Williams exit due to an adductor injury.
As for Austria, they beat debutants Jordan 3-1 in their first World Cup match since 1998 and lost 2-0 to Argentina, before narrowly drawing 3-3 to Algeria and setting up a date with Spain in the Round of 32.
Spain proved why they are one of the favorites to win the World Cup
Spain entered the match amid a minor injury crisis, with wingers Yéremy Pino, Víctor Muñoz, Nico Williams being sidelined and attacking midfielder Fermín López succumbing to injury before the tournament. But with Lamine Yamal delivering his best performance of the tournament on the right side of attack, this dearth of attackers proved negligible.
La Roja immediately imposed themselves from the outset and looked to have taken the lead from a corner kick, only for Marc Cucurella's goal to be disallowed for a foul. They would have to wait just seven minutes for their goal, as Oyarzabal turned in Cucurella's cross for a well-deserved opener.
Austria managed to keep things respectable thanks to the shot-stopping heroics of Alexander Schlager and eventually went with a double change at halftime, followed by another double substitution at the hour-mark.
But whilst Ralf Rangnick's side managed to increase the intensity and match Spain in terms of physicality, they never quite threatened the opposing goal apart from a few incisive crosses from Marcel Sabitzer, only for their lack of presence in the box to let them down.
Spain, meanwhile, kept their cool and continued to pick Austria apart with their high line and coordinated passing. And in the 66th minute, they got their just rewards as Álex Baena, filling in for the injured Williams, chiselled in a perfect cross for fellow new inclusion Pedro Porro to head home.
Oyarzabal put the cherry on top in the 89th minute, securing a 3-0 victory in Inglewood, CA. But for all the impressive possession play that Spain delivered, they also showcased their quality off the ball by limiting Austria to just five shots (zero on target) en route to a convincing victory.
In doing so, they sealed a world record as Unai Simón surpassed Walter Zenga for the most consecutive minutes in the World Cup without conceding a single goal (519). You got the feeling they could have plucked any goalkeeper from Spain's two professional divisions: they still would have kept a clean sheet.
"We knew that today was going to be a difficult game, but we did things well from the start, both on and off the ball," stated Porro after the match. "I saw the Spain team very concentrated from the start... we're trying to do things as well as possible, and the most important thing is the team keeps competing at a high level."
Defence wins championships, and that may very well end up being the case for Spain. After sleepwalking through the majority of the group stage, La Roja woke up for the business end of the tournament, demonstrating the same kind of cohesiveness that led them to glory two years ago in Germany.
Whether they end up playing Croatia or Portugal in Dallas, whether their injured attackers recover in time for the Round of 16, this Spain team isn't going away lightly. With silky smooth possession play and a rock-solid defense, Spain are going to be one of the main contenders to claim the ultimate prize in New Jersey on July 19.
