Spain blanks Austria, 3-0, in World Cup round of 32

Damian Calhoun, The Orange County Register on Jul 2, 2026

Published in Soccer

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — In 2010, the Spanish men’s national soccer team, led by Andres Iniesta and Xavi and a long list of stars, staked its claim as the best in the world in winning the World Cup.

Since then, Spain has had early exits, from a group-stage disappointment in 2014 to consecutive round of 16 departures in 2018 and 2022, leaving some to ask whether La Roja should still be considered a favorite in this year’s tournament.

After a slow start in the group stage, Spain proved that it can’t be excluded from the discussion of tournament favorites, kicking off the knockout round Thursday with a 3-0 win over Austria in front of 70,492 in Inglewood.

“There are many reasons to be happy today,” Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente said. “First because of the victory and for the individuals, it is great they get to enjoy these type of milestones. We feel happy and proud, very proud of the performance.

“I still think there is room for improvement. Our spirit is to keep on doing better. This team has not yet reached its cap.”

The win is the first in the knockout round for Spain since winning the World Cup in 2010. Spain has yet to concede a goal through the first four games.

Spain will face either Portugal or Croatia in the Round of 16 on Monday in Arlington, Texas. Spain’s path to a potential World Cup final could lead La Roja back to Inglewood. With a win in the Round of 16, Spain would return July 10 for the quarterfinals.

Spain went unbeaten in Group H. Following a shocking scoreless draw against Cape Verde, Spain defeated Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Uruguay (1-0) to finish first with seven points.

After a slow start Thursday, Spain seized control of the first half. The payoff came with a 36th-minute goal from Mikel Oyarzabal.

Trailing 1-0, Austria nearly had the equalizer in the 61st minute, but Saša Kalajdžić’s header went just over the bar. After that missed chance, Spain seized the opportunity to put the game away.

In the 66th minute, Pedro Porro’s gave Spain some breathing room at 2-0. Alex Baena, after getting a pass from Marc Cucurella, chipped a pass back toward the center, which Porro met with his head and the finish.

Cucurella, who recently made the move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, also had a hand in the opening goal, finding Oyarzabal unmarked in the 36th minute.

“Satisfaction can kill you,” de la Fuente said. “We want to be satisfied for what you did today, but the performance can always be improved. This is what we’ve been doing since the first day, getting better.”

Spanish teenage star Lamine Yamal dazzled the crowd with every move and run. The 18-year-old, who brought an injury into the tournament, had been increasing his time every game, starting with just a brief 19-minute appearance against Cape Verde, followed by a 45-minute run against Saudi Arabia and 76 minutes against Uruguay.

Versus Austria, Yamal was subbed off in the 85th minute, his longest appearance in the World Cup. Yamal was selected Player of the Match. With Yamal and 10-year-old Pau Cubarsi, Spain became the first team to start two teenagers in a FIFA World Cup knockout game since Brazil in 1958 (Pele and Altafini).

“I’m happy with the win of course,” he said. “I’m happy for the time, but the game is over and we focus on next one.”

Oyarzabal put the game away in the 89th minute with his second goal of the game, sealing the win and passage into the round of 16. It was his 12th goal in 12 games with Spain this season and 16th in the last 18 games.

Austrian coach Ralf Rangnick said he didn’t remember any unforced errors from Spain, saying the nation is one of the favorites to be lifting the trophy July 19.

“If they show the same performance today in their future games, there’s not much they can improve on,” Rangnick said of Spain. “What we saw today and I what I saw live, I think there are maybe two, three nations that are the favorites.”

Austria, in its first World Cup since 1998, finished second in Group J thanks to a late-stoppage goal from Kalajdžić to secure a 3-3 draw against Algeria.

A third-place finish would have sent Austria into a round of 32 match against Switzerland. However, the nation also faced the possibility on the last day of the group stage of being eliminated from advancing.

“If you watched the match, you would have to recognize that it is very difficult to play against this opponent,” Rangnick said. “I can’t remember any unforced error that they made. We knew we would be in one of most difficult groups and we had to avoid the winner of their other group and in the last match (against Algeria), we knew we couldn’t avoid them.

“I told them, our goal is for Austria to be regular participant in the European Championships and World Championships, which it was not in the past. I will do whatever I can as a coach to have them back.”