Los Angeles: Spain defeats Austria in World Cup last-32 match

By Bilal Ahmed

By Bilal Ahmed — 2 July 2026 — 3 min read

Spain Advances in World Cup

Spain secured a victory against Austria in a World Cup last-32 match held in Los Angeles. The Spanish side displayed strong control throughout the game, particularly in the second half, maintaining significant possession and creating numerous scoring opportunities. The match saw Spain register 22 shots, with 10 on target, while Austria managed 5 shots, none of which were on target.

The opening goal for Spain came from Mikal Oyarzabal. The play began with Unai Simon passing from the back, and the ball was moved from right to left before Marc Cucurella delivered a pass around the Austria defence. Oyarzabal timed his run effectively to score past Alexander Schlager. This goal set the tone for Spain‘s performance, which included hitting the bar once and having another goal disallowed.

Spain‘s dominance was evident in their statistical performance. They recorded an overall possession of 90.8% pass accuracy, completing 598 passes compared to Austria‘s 305 passes with 81% accuracy. Their expected goals (xG) stood at 2.2147, significantly higher than Austria‘s 0.4872, indicating their offensive threat.

Key Moments and Second Half Control

The second goal for Spain, which further solidified their lead, was scored by Pedro Porro, marking his first international goal. Following a period of sustained possession, Alex Baena initiated the move with a pass to Olmo. Although Olmo‘s shot was challenged, the ball returned to Baena, who then delivered a cross to Porro. Porro arrived late in the box and headed the ball into the net.

Spain continued to control the game after the break, picking up where they left off in the first half. They consistently won the ball high up the field, leading to an early shot from Oyarzabal that was saved by Schlager. Rodri also had a long-range shot deflected wide of the far post, which Schlager appeared to have covered.

Despite being behind, Austria showed resilience. In the 82nd minute, Posch made a late run and headed wide, demonstrating their continued effort. Earlier, in the 61st minute, Sasa Kalajdzic had a half-chance, heading a cross from Marcel Sabitzer onto the roof of the net. Marko Arnautovic received treatment in the 63rd minute after a collision with Unai Simon, who had come out of his area to clear the ball.

Match Statistics and Officials

The match was officiated by referee Glenn Nyberg, with Tomasz Kwiatkowski serving as the Video Assistant Referee. The assistant referees were Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Söderkvist, and the fourth official was Dahane Beida. Fedayi San was the Assistant VAR Official.

Statistical data from the match highlighted Spain‘s dominance across various metrics. They had 50 total touches inside the opposition box compared to Austria‘s 11. Spain also had 9 corners, while Austria had none. In defence, Spain committed 8 fouls and Austria committed 13, with Austria receiving one yellow card. Spain won 11 aerial duels to Austria‘s 3, and made 12 clearances compared to Austria‘s 21.

The match momentum analysis indicated periods where Spain had a high chance of scoring, reflecting their consistent pressure. Spain‘s manager, Luis de la Fuente, deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation, mirroring Austria‘s formation under manager Ralf Rangnick. The final result sees Spain advance to the last 16 of the World Cup.

Source: bbc.com