In Los Angeles, the City of Stars, it was Mikel Oyarzabal—who doesn’t want to be a star—who emerged as one: the Spanish forward’s two goals, with two assists from Marc Cucurella, along with another goal from Pedro Porro, sealed the 3-0 victory over Austria in the World Cup Round of 32. Spain advanced past the first round of the World Cup for the first time since winning the title in South Africa in 2010.
Spain quickly shook off this string of disappointments to advance to the round of 16 on its way to winning a second star—the main goal of its stay in the United States.
Spain Finds Its Leader and Boasts an Impenetrable Wall
A path built on a solid defense.
Spain’s fourth consecutive match without conceding a goal—a perfect record so far in the tournament—and a career high for Unai Simón.
The goalkeeper who has gone the longest stretch of minutes without conceding a goal in a World Cup.
He broke the record set by Italy’s Walter Zenga at the 1990 World Cup by two minutes. Unai Simón’s streak now stands at 519.
And on offense, a key player who stays out of the spotlight.
Mikel Oyarzabal is tired of being asked if he’s underrated, but he continues to prove himself on the field, which means he’ll keep hearing that question.
Oyarzabal continued his stellar run with Spain by scoring two goals.
17 goals and six assists in his last 17 games with Luis de la Fuente’s team.
Four goals and one assist in this 2026 World Cup, where he is emerging as the offensive leader of a Spanish national team that broke through the wall.
First victory in a World Cup knockout round since South Africa 2010, when it won the World Cup for the first time (Filed under: Spain vs. Austria)
Luis de la Fuente found the perfect formula
A solid and cohesive defensive effort in the face of Austria’s quick transitions as they sought out spaces that were closing up with every passing second.
Dani Olmo and Pedro Porro proved Luis de la Fuente right with their defensive work and offensive contributions.
Two new faces in the starting lineup, which is the same one that routed Saudi Arabia. The coach already has his go-to lineup.
A starting lineup made up of players who know each other inside and out.
Luis de la Fuente noted yesterday that his players have been playing together for a long time.
Marc Cucurella and Mikel Oyarzabal demonstrated that added value.
Spain’s strong recovery and Pedri’s foresight in opening up the left flank for Cucurella, who didn’t even have to look to see where Oyarzabal was.
They’ve been playing together since 2021 and understand each other without even looking at one another. Two soccer players developed by Luis de la Fuente (Filed under: Spain vs. Austria).
A disallowed goal did not stop “La Roja” from dominating the game
Cucurella’s low pass back set up Oyarzabal’s goal in the 36th minute, which reflected Spain’s dominance on the field at the Los Angeles stadium.
He might even have arrived earlier.
In the 29th minute, Cucurella scored himself, but the goal was disallowed because, in the referee’s judgment, Pau Cubarsí had fouled Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
An unwritten rule—and therefore one that doesn’t exist—stating that you cannot touch the goalkeeper inside the goal area cost Spain a 1-0 lead.
Germany also suffered from it, and it cost them their place in the World Cup.
Lamine Yamal was able to put the game out of reach before halftime.
But the ball, which ended up in the six-yard box after a clearance error by Michael Gregoritsch, struck the Austrian goalkeeper in the chest (Filed under: Spain vs. Austria).
All-time record with a convincing rout
A missed opportunity that highlighted the current situation facing Spain’s No. 19.
Having recovered from his muscle injury, he has regained his characteristic spark, but he came just centimeters short of turning it into a goal or an assist.
Especially since, in the 84th minute, David Alaba cleared the ball off the line.
Konrad Laimer and Marcel Sabitzer suffered through it, but Spain wasn’t able to fully enjoy it—that 100% performance it is still chasing in this World Cup.
On July 6, you’ll have another chance.
A lead that Spain could have secured in the 66th minute to avoid any trouble.
Once again, a run down the left flank caught the Austrian defense off guard, as they were unable to keep an eye on the players coming in from the second line.
And on this occasion, Pedro Porro took advantage of that opportunity to prove himself worthy of his coach’s trust.
Luis de la Fuente noted that the right back had “a delicate touch,” but he didn’t need it to make it 2-0, which he celebrated after scoring with a header.
A path based on defensive solidity
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Austria’s promised high pressure came to nothing in the face of Spain’s composure and the chemistry between Cucurella and Oyarzabal, which was on display again in the 89th minute.
So that the second player could complete his brace and make it 3-0, a score that allowed Spain to tie its longest unbeaten streak in history.
The 35 goals scored by Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque (Filed under: Spain vs. Austria).
Technical Specifications
3 – Spain: Unai Simón; Pedro Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte (Marc Pubill, 90′), Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri (Fabián, 90′), Dani Olmo (Mikel Merino, 71′); Lamine Yamal (Gavi, 85′), Oyarzabal, and Álex Baena (Ferran Torres, 71′).
Head Coach: Luis de la Fuente (ESP).
0 – Austria: Alexander Schlager; Stefan Posch (Alexander Prass, 85′), Kevin Danso, David Alaba, Konrad Laimer; Xaver Schlager (Florian Grillitsch, 46′), Nicolas Seiwald (Carney Chukwuemeka, 46′), Marcel Sabitzer, Romano Schmid (Sasa Kalajdzic, 60′), Paul Wanner; and Michael Gregoritsch (Marko Arnautovic, 60′).
Head Coach: Ralf Rangnick (GER).
Goals: 1-0: Oyarzabal, 36′. 2-0: Pedro Porro, 66′. 3-0: Oyarzabal, 89′.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden). He issued a yellow card to Stefan Posch (83′) of Austria.
Match Details: World Cup Round of 32 match played at the Los Angeles Stadium in front of 70,492 spectators (Filed as: Spain vs. Austria).
With information from EFE
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