La Roja March On: Spain 3-0 Austria, Unbeaten Streak Hits 14

Oyarzabal brace sends Spain into last 16 with 3-0 Austria rout

Austria’s World Cup run ends after a 3-0 loss to Spain. Oyarzabal’s brace puts La Roja into the last 16 with a perfect defensive record.

Oyarzabal at the double as ruthless Spain swat aside Austria to reach knockouts...

Spain’s class told in a 3-0 victory against Austria, booking their place in the FIFA World Cup last 16 without having conceded a goal yet. Mikel Oyarzabal struck twice to take him to 23 goal contributions in his last 16 games for La Roja. 

Both teams threatened early, breaking behind the back lines within minutes. Lamine Yamal had the first real chance, firing in an early test as the game quickly opened up for the crowd.

Austria’s counter-attack threat lingered, but Spain started to take control. Aymeric Laporte came closest during a flurry of early corners. 

Spain thought they’d broken through right after the hydration break when Marc Cucurella smashed home from another corner, but the referee disallowed it. He ruled there had been a foul on Alexander Schlager in the build-up.

Spain kept turning up the heat as halftime neared, and Schlager had to be at his best to palm an Oyarzabal shot around the post, just after keeping out Lamine Yamal too.

Austria’s defense finally cracked before the break though. Cucurella found Oyarzabal with a clever ball, and he made no mistake with the finish.

Alex Baena was denied by the crossbar from a superb free-kick right on halftime, and Lamine Yamal couldn’t scramble in the rebound after the ball bounced around in the box.

Nothing changed after the break. Rangnick’s Austria barely survived, withstanding wave after wave of Spanish pressure.

That made it comfortable for Spain. Lamine Yamal nearly made it three, but David Alaba cleared his shot off the line.

Oyarzabal got the final word, tapping in another Cucurella delivery in the 89th minute to complete his brace.

Spain now wait on the Portugal vs Croatia winner in the next round. With 14 games unbeaten, they’ll be a daunting opponent for whoever comes next.

It’s tournament over for Austria, but reaching their first World Cup knockout round since 1954 will likely have Rangnick feeling it’s a job well done.