The Spanish national team secured its qualification to the World Cup round of 16, achieving its first victory in the knockout stages since the 2010 edition final.
Mikel Oyarzabal
Club: Real Sociedad
Spain
The Spanish national team defeated Austria with three goals without reply in the round of 32 of the World Cup.
The Spanish national team awaits the winner of the Portugal vs. Croatia match in the round of 16.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for Spain before Pedro Porro extended the lead with the second goal, and Oyarzabal concluded the scoring with a third goal.
Since the beginning of the millennium, Spain has only surpassed the round of 16 twice, first in the 2002 edition after reaching the quarter-finals, and second in 2010 after winning the title.
In the last two editions, Spain exited the World Cup from the round of 16.
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Oyarzabal > Yamal
Austria's coach Ralf Rangnick stated in the pre-match press conference against Spain that his plan would rely on stopping Lamine Yamal as he is one of the key players for the Matador.
Rangnick indicated that stopping Yamal would reduce Spain's chances and threat in the match.
Rangnick may have succeeded in stopping Yamal, who neither assisted nor scored in the match, but he overlooked the presence of Oyarzabal, who scored two goals.
Oyarzabal continued his brilliance with the Spanish national team by scoring two new goals against Austria.
Oyarzabal reached his 22nd goal contribution in his last 14 international matches.
Oyarzabal raised his tally to 15 goals and 7 assists in his last 14 matches.
Despite failing to score against Cape Verde and Uruguay, Oyarzabal reached 5 goal contributions in the current edition.
Breaking Iniesta's Curse
The Spanish national team failed in the last three editions to score at least one goal in the knockout stages.
Mikel Oyarzabal succeeded in breaking the curse of Andrés Iniesta's goal in the 2010 edition final by scoring Spain's first goal against Austria.
Oyarzabal's goal came in the 36th minute.
Simón Surpasses Casillas and Zenga
Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simón broke the record for the longest clean sheet streak in the World Cup.
During the Austria match, Simón broke Casillas' record at the start of the second half by keeping a clean sheet for 476 minutes without conceding a goal.
At that time, Simón became the Spanish goalkeeper with the longest clean sheet streak in the World Cup.
By the end of the match, Simón broke the world record held by Italy's goalkeeper Walter Zenga, who had 517 minutes.
Simón reached 519 minutes without conceding a goal in the World Cup so far.
Simón is preparing to enhance his record in the round of 16 match against either Croatia or Portugal.
Under Twenty
The Spanish national team played with two under-20 players in the starting lineup, a record in a World Cup knockout match that hasn't happened since the 1958 edition.
De la Fuente fielded the duo Lamine Yamal (18 years old) and Pau Cubarsi (19 years old) in the starting lineup.
The last time this achievement was realized was when Brazil fielded the duo Pelé (17 years old) and Mazzola (19 years old) 68 years ago.
Match Description
The match began with pressure from the Spanish players from the start, seeking to score and open the game.
Lamine Yamal surprised the Austrian defenses with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area in the first minute, but Schallager successfully saved it.
Contrary to the course of the match, Gregoritsch almost scored Austria's goal in the 18th minute, but the ball passed by his head, safely passing by Simón's goal.
Dani Olmo succeeded in passing with great skill in the 29th minute, but the Austrian defense quickly cleared the ball to a corner.
Marc Cucurella scored a goal in the 29th minute after exploiting a cross from a corner, but the referee disallowed the goal due to a collision between Spanish players and the Austrian goalkeeper.
Oyarzabal tried to break the Austrian defenses with a powerful shot in the 32nd minute, but Schallager excelled and kept his net clean.
Oyarzabal finally succeeded in opening the scoring for Spain in the 36th minute after a cross from Cucurella.
In the second half, Spain's superiority became more apparent, and Yamal tried to score a goal.
Pedro Porro succeeded in opening his scoring record with Spain with a brilliant header in the 66th minute, exploiting a cross from Alex Baena.
Porro became the first defender to score for Spain with a header since Carlos Puyol's goal against Germany in the 2010 edition.
The match calmed down after the second goal, with Spanish players controlling the ball.
Oyarzabal added the third goal in the 89th minute after a brilliant ground cross from Cucurella.
The Spanish national team awaits the winner of the Portugal vs. Croatia match in the round of 16.
Since the beginning of the millennium, Spain has only surpassed the round of 16 twice, first in the 2002 edition after reaching the quarter-finals, and second in 2010 after winning the title.
In the last two editions, Spain exited the World Cup from the round of 16.
