Spain 3-0 Austria: Oyarzabal double sends La Roja into last 16

Spain advanced to the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a dominant 3-0 victory over Austria in Los Angeles, courtesy of two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and a first international strike from Pedro Porro. The win marked Spain's first knockout-stage success in the World Cup since their 2010 triumph in South Africa and set up a last-16 tie against either Portugal or Croatia in Dallas on July 6.

First-half dominance

Lamine Yamal set the tone early with a shot on goal in the opening minute, and Spain's pressure grew as the half progressed. Marc Cucurella thought he had opened the scoring from a corner, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. The deadlock was broken in the 36th minute when Cucurella delivered a low cross from the left, and Oyarzabal steered a first-time shot into the corner for his third goal of the tournament. Spain came close to doubling their lead before halftime as Alex Baena's free-kick struck the crossbar, and Yamal forced another save from Schlager.

Second-half control

Austria substitute Sasa Kalajdzic had their best chance a minute after coming on in the 60th minute, but he could not keep his header down from Marcel Sabitzer's cross. Instead, Spain secured the win with a header at the other end: Baena crossed from the left, and Pedro Porro arrived to nod in his first international goal in the 66th minute. After David Alaba blocked a Yamal shot on the line, Spain added a third in the 89th minute as Oyarzabal slid in his second from another Cucurella cross.

Record-breaking clean sheet

The clean sheet for goalkeeper Unai Simon was his fifth in successive World Cup matches, dating back to December 2022 when Spain drew 0-0 with Morocco before losing on penalties. That equaled Walter Zenga's record for Italy in 1990. Simon also set a new all-time record by going 519 minutes without conceding a goal in World Cup matches, surpassing Zenga's 517-minute mark.

Reaction

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente praised his team's performance, telling RTVE: "The big teams turn up when their presence is needed ... I think today we've seen a great game. I'm happy because in all aspects we've been almost perfect – but we have to keep improving. Every match now is going to be very difficult. In the last 16, the opponents are now even more demanding … You can always improve and on top of that, it's what this team demands. These players always want more and more. [Oyarzabal] showed the footballing potential he has – and the rest of his team-mates exactly the same. They played an extraordinary match."

Oyarzabal said: "I'm happy to help the team and to get through another round. [It was] a difficult game. We knew it'd be difficult as they're a very physical team. But we've had a very good day."

Austria defender David Alaba acknowledged Spain's quality: "For the first 20-25 minutes we were OK but after the first break, I think they [Spain] changed a bit and then it became more difficult for us. They are very strong with the ball. They have a lot of the ball and after 90 minutes it's difficult to [just] run after the ball. They have players who have a lot of quality and are very dangerous."