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Spain delivered its best performance this Thursday in the , thrashing Austria 3-0 in the round of 32 held at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, securing its place in the knockout stage with a display of total football that left no room for doubt.
The tell the story better than any narrative: 65% possession compared to Austria's 35%, 22 shots against five, and 10 shots on target with none from the Austrians, who never put the Spanish goalkeeper under pressure.
Mikel Oyarzabal was the standout player of the night. The forward opened the scoring in the 36th minute by connecting with a precise cross from Marc Cucurella, a textbook play that put La Roja ahead before halftime.
Oyarzabal himself returned to the scoreboard in the 89th minute to finish off the rout with his second goal of the match, completing a brace that establishes him as one of the top scorers of the tournament with three goals in total —he had previously scored a brace against Saudi Arabia on June 21.
Between both goals by the forward, Pedro Porro extended the lead in the 66th minute with a header following a cross from Alex Baena, in a collective play that showcased the fluidity and connection of the team managed by Luis de la Fuente.
Austria tried to shake up the match with as many as six substitutions throughout the game, four of them made at halftime: Seiwald was replaced by Chukwuemeka, and Schlager was substituted for Grillitsch. In the 60th minute, two more changes were made, with Arnautovic and Kalajdzic entering the field. None of those modifications altered the course of the game.
The numbers from the Austrians are tellingly in the opposite direction: 13 fouls, five offside calls, zero corners, and zero shots on target. The only disciplinary note of the match came in the 83rd minute, when Stefan Posch received a yellow card and was substituted two minutes later by A. Prass.
Spain, on the other hand, did not accumulate any yellow cards and generated nine corner kicks without Austria responding with any.
La Roja reached this stage as undisputed leader of Group H with seven points, resulting from victories against Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Uruguay (1-0), along with a goalless draw against Cape Verde. With a flawless defense since the start of the tournament, the team now boasts eight goals in their favor and none against in the entire 2026 World Cup.
Austria, which reached the Round of 16 as the second team in Group J with four points after defeating Jordan, losing to Argentina, and drawing with Algeria, bids farewell to the tournament without having been able to challenge a Spain that never let its guard down.
In the round of 16, La Roja will face the winner of the matchup between Portugal and Croatia, scheduled for July 6, with the distinction of being the only team in the tournament that has yet to concede a single goal.
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