Oyarzabal on fire as Spain crushes Austria and advances to last 16 unbeaten

Mikkel Oyarzabal scored twice and Pedro Porro added a third goal to secure Spain a clean 3-0 victory over Austria in the World Cup 2026 round of 16 on Thursday evening in Inglewood, California. La Roja advanced to the last 16 without conceding a single goal since the start of the tournament.

Oyarzabal opened the scoring in the 36th minute before Porro doubled the lead in the 66th. Late in the match, as Austria’s defence crumbled, Cucurella set up the Real Sociedad forward a second time, who finished from close range for his fourth goal of the tournament (89’). The reigning European champions thus confirmed their progressive improvement after a mixed group stage: a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, followed by victories over Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Uruguay (1-0).

Facing a willing but technically limited Austrian block, Luis de la Fuente’s Spain controlled the game without ever wavering. Ralf Rangnick’s side, hoping for a reaction after a closed first half, failed to find the resources to trouble Spain goalkeeper Simon. Lamine Yamal, very active in the second half, saw a shot cleared off the line by Alaba but failed to score his second goal of the World Cup.

La Roja will face the winner of the Portugal vs Croatia match on Monday in Dallas for a place in the quarter-finals.