World Cup 2026: Spain coasts past Austria behind Mikel Oyarzabal brace, into Round of 16

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — This World Cup has belonged to its biggest stars. Spain showed Thursday it doesn’t need one. With Lamine Yamal largely quiet, Spain relied on crisp passing, patient buildup and a pair of perfect Marc Cucurella setups to coast past Austria 3-0 in a Round of 32 match at SoFi Stadium. Cucurella picked out Mikel Oyarzabal for Spain’s first goal in the 36th minute, slipping a perfectly weighted pass into the box that Oyarzabal guided into the far corner with his first touch. Pedro Porro added his first international goal in the second half, and Cucurella found Oyarzabal again in the 89th minute to finish off the win. With the win, Spain advances to face the winner of Portugal and Croatia in the Round of 16, but it all started with Oyarzabal’s lovely flick into the net. Beautiful goal from Spain to take a 1-0 lead 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/L9LqnfPBrF — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 2, 2026 Spain took control after a short feeling out stretch and had the better chances for most of the first half. Austria’s best look came when Michael Gregoritsch just missed getting on the end of a cross in front of goal, but the Austrians finished the half with only two shots and none on target. Spain thought it had scored around the 30th minute when Marc Cucurella blasted a shot into the net after a corner, but the goal was waved off after Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager was ruled to have been impeded. VAR checked it and the no-goal call stood. A few minutes later, Schlager kept Austria alive again, pushing a low Mikel Oyarzabal shot just wide of the post. But there was nothing Schlager could do in the 36th minute. Pedri started the move through the middle and got the ball to Marc Cucurella who picked out Oyarzabal with a perfect ball into the box, and Oyarzabal cleanly swept it into the far corner with his first touch. It was Oyarzabal’s 16th goal in his last 16 games for Spain. Spain nearly doubled its advantage in first-half stoppage time. Alex Baena curled a free kick off the crossbar, and after Austria failed to clear the rebound, Yamal was denied from close range by another excellent save from Schlager. Alexander Schlager with crucial goalkeeping for Austria 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/0GUDX4cb5t — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 2, 2026 Austria manager Ralf Rangnick looked to change the match after halftime, reshuffling his side with a couple substitutions in hopes of finding an equalizer. Instead, Spain struck again. In the 66th minute, Cucurella worked the ball to Baena on the left, and Baena delivered the unselfish cross into the box. Pedro Porro was there to meet it with a powerful header that beat Schlager and doubled Spain’s lead. It was Porro’s first international goal and Baena’s first assist of the World Cup after the midfielder passed up a chance to shoot himself in favor of setting up his teammate. Pedro Porro scores his first international goal for Spain 🇪🇸 What a moment to do it in the FIFA World Cup! pic.twitter.com/8WTSasIErA — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 2, 2026 Spain put the match away in the 89th minute, and once again it was the Cucurella-Oyarzabal connection. Given too much space on the left, Cucurella bent another perfectly weighted ball into the penalty area, where Oyarzabal slid it past Alexander Schlager for his second goal of the night. It capped another clinical performance for the Spain forward, who now has 17 goals in his last 16 appearances for the national team. OYARZABAL BRACE, ANOTHER CUCURELLA ASSIST 🇪🇸 Spain leads 3-0 and is ready for the Round of 16! pic.twitter.com/KWCbl1E5KV — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 2, 2026 Spain will face the winner of Thursday night’s Portugal-Croatia Round of 32 match in the Round of 16. Austria’s tournament ends after reaching the knockout stage for the first time since 1954, but it never found an answer for Spain’s precision passing or relentless control.