Spain comfortably qualified for the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup after an emphatic 3-0 victory over Austria in the last 16 of the competition. In the next phase, the representative team prepared by Luis de la Fuente will meet the winner of the duel between Portugal and Croatia, scheduled on the night of Thursday to Friday, from 2:00.
If the Lusitanians prevail, the round of 16 could offer a gala duel between Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo’s team, with a place in the quarter-finals on the table.
Spain made a strong start to their World Cup Round of 16 match and came close to scoring in the opening seconds when Lamine Yamal shot from distance, but Austria’s keeper made no trouble. The Iberians controlled the game in the first half, but the Austrians also had a great opportunity in the 18th minute, which Michael Gregoritsch missed. In the 30th minute, Spain managed to score through Marc Cucurella, but the goal was disallowed for an attacking foul.
Spain’s dominance took shape in the 36th minute when Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring with a shot from inside the box, having been blocked by Austrian goalkeeper Schlager a minute earlier. By half-time, the Iberians continued to attack and came close to scoring through Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Baena, the latter hitting the bar with a free-kick. However, Austria resisted, and Spain entered the booths with only one goal scored.
Victory by absentee score for Spain
Oyarzabal and Rodri came close to scoring in the opening minutes of the second half. Austria tried to get back into the match and had an important chance in the 61st minute when Kalajdzic headed wide. The decisive moment came in the 66th minute when Pedro Porro extended Spain’s lead to 2-0 with a header from inside the box. Until the end, the Iberians controlled the game and did not give the opponents a chance to come back, being close to the third goal through Ferran Torres.
Austria tried to come back late in the game, but opportunities from Chukwuemeka and Posch did not cause any real problems for the Spanish goal. At the other end, Spain continued to attack and came close to a third goal in the 85th minute when David Alaba blocked Lamine Yamal’s shot from the goal line. However, the Iberians closed the table in the 89th minute, through Oyarzabal, who managed to double and set the final score, 3-0. With this clear victory, Spain qualified without emotions in the round of 16 of the World Cup.
