Mikel Oyarzabal’s brace helped dominant Spain beat Austria 3-0 at the SoFi Stadium on Friday to seal their place in the last 16 of the World Cup. It was Spain’s first victory in a World Cup knockout round since its historic victory in 2010.Right back Pedro Polo also scored in the second half as La Roja put in one of their most impressive performances of the tournament, mesmerizing the crowd with their trademark ball control and attacking creativity.Spain’s defensive record remains perfect, having yet to concede a goal at this World Cup. Goalkeeper Unai Simon kept a fourth consecutive clean sheet without having to make a save, with a ruthless Spanish defense preventing an Austrian effort.After the first half break, the European champions gave full play to their offensive capabilities. Real Sociedad captain Oyarzabal found himself unmarked in the penalty area in the 36th minute, breaking the deadlock with a sharp pass from Marc Cucurella.Spain doubled their lead in the 66th minute when Álex Baena passed a perfect cross to the oncoming Polo, who celebrated his first international goal with a powerful header. Oyarzabal capped off a masterclass in the 89th minute, with another clever assist from Cucurela scoring his second goal of the night.Austria put on a brave performance, with goalkeeper Alexander Schrager making six key saves and defender David Alaba making a superb goal-line clearance in the final seconds to keep out 18-year-old starlet Ramin Yamar. However, Ralf Rangnick’s side were eventually eliminated.With this win, Luis de la Fuente’s side extended their unbeaten run to 35 official games. The comfortable victory firmly restored Spain’s status as title contenders after disappointing exits from the past three World Cups.Spain travels to Dallas on Monday to face a thrilling last-16 showdown between Portugal and Croatia.
