Spain ended a 16-year wait for a victory in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup after beating Austria 3-0 to reach the last 16 of the 2026 tournament.
The European champions dominated the match in Los Angeles and created several records and milestones with the impressive victory.
Spain recorded their first win in a men’s World Cup knockout match since defeating the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa. Since then, they had suffered disappointments, crashing out in the group stage in 2014 before losing in the round of 16 to Russia in 2018 and Morocco in 2022.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring in the 36th minute after finishing a low cross from Marc Cucurella. Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s advantage in the second half before Oyarzabal scored again late in the game to seal the comfortable victory.
The brace took Oyarzabal’s total to four goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and increased his overall tally for Spain to 29 goals in 58 international appearances.
Spain also maintained their excellent defensive record, becoming only the second team at the tournament, after Mexico, to avoid conceding a goal in their opening four matches.
For Austria, the defeat marked the end of their first appearance in a World Cup knockout match since 1954, ending a 72-year wait to return to the competition’s knockout stage.
Spain’s attacking display also showed their growing confidence at the tournament. After managing only 16 shots on target across their three group-stage matches, they produced 10 shots on target against Austria alone.
Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal continued to impress despite not finding the net. The 18-year-old caused problems throughout the match and was denied a goal only by a goal-line clearance from veteran defender David Alaba.
With the victory, Spain not only ended years of World Cup disappointments but also strengthened their position as one of the favourites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
