The 2026 World Cup will continue to be a place where Spain can assert its dominance, even though their opponent, Austria, has a highly scientific and disciplined style of play.
Spain deserved their victory over Austria. Photo: FIFA.
Immediately after the opening whistle, coach Luis De La Fuente's team quickly imposed their dominance with superior ball control. Lamine Yamal constantly created chances on the flanks, while Marc Cucurella and Aymeric Laporte put a lot of pressure on the Austrian defense.
After a series of missed opportunities, Spain finally opened the scoring in the 36th minute. From a well-placed pass by Cucurella, Mikel Oyarzabal coolly finished past Schlager. Before halftime, Alex Baena hit the crossbar, and Yamal also missed a chance to double the lead.
In the second half, Austria were forced to push forward in search of an equalizer but were unable to make a difference against their opponent's solid defense. After Sasa Kalajdzic's unfortunate header went over the crossbar, Spain immediately responded. In the 68th minute, Pedro Porro scored his first goal for the national team with a header from a Baena assist. In the 89th minute, Oyarzabal completed his brace after another assist from Cucurella, sealing a 3-0 victory for "La Roja" – the nickname of the Spanish national team.
This victory extends Spain's unbeaten World Cup streak to 14 matches, while also maintaining their record of not conceding a single goal at the 2026 World Cup. In the Round of 16, the Spanish team will face the winner of the match between Portugal and Croatia.
Besides their convincing performance, Spain also set a special milestone. With Pau Cubarsi (19 years old) and Lamine Yamal (18 years old) starting together, they became the first team since Brazil in 1958 to field two players under 20 years old in the starting lineup in a World Cup knockout match. This is clear evidence of the combination of youth and experience that is helping Spain assert its position as a strong contender for the championship this year.