Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice as Spain beat Austria 3-0 in INGLEWOOD, Calif., earning its first World Cup knockout victory since winning the title in 2010.
Pedro Porro added a second-half goal for La Roja, which produced its sharpest performance of the tournament after going unbeaten through group play without fully hitting stride.
Oyarzabal and Cucurella lead Spain attack
Oyarzabal opened the scoring in the 36th minute, finishing a pass from Marc Cucurella after Goalkeeper Alexander Schlager had made a diving fingertip save on his earlier low shot.
Spain kept control after halftime. Álex Baena broke in on the left and lifted a pass to Porro, who headed in his first international goal. Oyarzabal sealed the win in the 89th minute from another sharp Cucurella pass.
Lamine Yamal had four of Spain’s 10 shots on goal and drew loud support from the Spanish crowd at SoFi Stadium. The 18-year-old Barcelona winger played until the 85th minute, shortly after David Alaba cleared his hard shot off the goal line.
Simón extends clean-sheet run to 519 minutes
Spain still has not allowed a goal at this World Cup. Austria did not put a shot on target, leaving Unai Simón without a save to make while recording his fourth straight clean sheet.
Simón’s World Cup shutout streak reached 519 minutes, breaking the tournament record set by Italy’s Walter Zenga at the 1990 World Cup. Simón has needed only four saves across the four shutouts.
“The great teams step up when it’s needed,” Spain coach Luis De La Fuente said. “We played a great match. We came close to perfection, but we must keep improving.”
Portugal awaits Spain in Dallas
Spain will next face Portugal in Dallas after Portugal beat Croatia 2-1. La Roja is unbeaten in 35 straight competitive matches since March 2023, a run that includes the 2023 Nations League title and the 2024 European Championship, along with a 2025 Nations League final loss on penalties to Portugal.
Austria reached the knockout rounds of its first World Cup since 1998 after a late draw against Algeria, but Ralf Rangnick’s team has not won a World Cup knockout match since 1954.
Schlager made six saves for Austria. Marko Arnautović came on as a second-half substitute, and Rangnick said afterward that the 37-year-old striker had played his final international match.