Spain is through to the Round of 16 after a relatively painless 3-0 victory over Austria in SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles.
Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and another from Pedro Porro were more than enough to ease the European champion’s path into the World Cup’s next knockout phase. Spain will next face the winner of this evening’s match between Portugal and Croatia in the next round.
While the Austrians had opportunities in the opening few minutes, the pitch at SoFi Stadium felt heavily tilted toward the Austrian goal as Spain – one of the favorites to win the World Cup later this month – had most of the possession and most of the opportunities.
Spain put the ball in the back of the net in the 29th minute after a corner kick pinged around in the box before Marc Cucurella pounced on the loose ball and sent it home. However, the goal was quickly ruled out for a foul while the corner was in air – the referee ruled Alexander Schlager was impeded by a Spanish player while trying to punch the ball clear.
The breakthrough came in the 37th minute off a beautifully worked team goal. Barcelona’s Dani Olmo played in Cucurella down the Spanish left. The new Real Madrid star took one touch and fired a cross into the box. Oyarzabal was left alone in the middle of the Austrian penalty area and hit the ball first time into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
