Spain sweep Austria aside 3-0 with an Oyarzabal double to reach the last 16

Spain reached the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup by beating Austria 3-0 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the ultra-modern Los Angeles-area venue opened in 2020, with its translucent canopy roof and circular Infinity screen, shared by the NFL's Rams and Chargers. La Roja produced their most complete performance of the tournament in a round-of-32 tie they controlled from start to finish, at midday local time and with the stands awash in red and yellow.

Luis de la Fuente set up a 4-2-3-1 with Unai Simón in goal; Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte and Cucurella across the back; Rodri and Pedri in the engine room; and Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Baena behind Oyarzabal. The plan worked from the off: long spells of possession, a high press, and Austria struggled to get out of their own half. The reward came in the 36th minute, when Mikel Oyarzabal turned in a measured Marc Cucurella delivery for 1-0.

Ralf Rangnick went to his bench right at the start of the second half with a double change, but the script did not change. In the 66th minute, Pedro Porro joined the attack and beat Alexander Schlager from an Alex Baena pass to make it 2-0. The right-back capped a tireless afternoon of raiding up and down his flank.

With Austria pushing forward without conviction, the clincher arrived in the 89th: the Cucurella-Oyarzabal partnership once more, another assist from the left-back and another finish from the Real Sociedad striker. A double for Oyarzabal, two assists for Cucurella and 3-0 on the scoreboard. The Eibar-born forward, named man of the match with a 9.3 rating, went off to an ovation in stoppage time.

The numbers capture Spain's superiority: 65% possession, 23 attempts (10 on target), 9 corners and 629 passes at 91% accuracy, against an Austria side that did not manage a single shot on target or win a corner all game. Unai Simón was a luxury spectator, while Alexander Schlager's six saves spared his side a heavier defeat. Posch's booking in the 83rd summed up Austria's afternoon: chasing the ball.

Rangnick's Austria, with Alaba, Sabitzer and young Paul Wanner starting, bow out of the World Cup after a fine group stage that found no continuation in the knockouts. Spain, by contrast, move into the round of 16 full of momentum and already know where their next tie will come from: the winner of Portugal-Croatia, played this very night at BMO Field in Toronto.