Austrian defender David Alaba believes that the first-half water break affected his team's performance and benefited the Spanish national team.
David Alaba
Club: Real Madrid
Austria
Spain
The Spanish national team secured their qualification to the Round of 16 of the World Cup, achieving their first victory in the knockout stages since the 2010 final.
Spain defeated Austria by three goals to nil in the Round of 32 matches of the World Cup.
David Alaba revealed via DAZN: "In the first 20–25 minutes we were good, but after the first break—the water stop—I think the Spanish national team changed their style of play, and things became more difficult for us."
He added, "They are characterized by great strength in ball possession and have players of high quality."
Alaba concluded his remarks: "During 90 minutes of ball control, it becomes difficult to chase the ball, and they pose a major threat."
Spain now awaits the qualifier from the match between Portugal and Croatia in the Round of 16.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for Spain, before Pedro Porro extended the lead with the second goal, and Oyarzabal sealed the scoring with a third goal.
Since the beginning of the millennium, the Spanish national team has surpassed the Round of 16 only twice: first in the 2002 edition after reaching the quarter-finals, and second in 2010 after winning the title.
In the last two editions, the Spanish national team was eliminated from the World Cup in the Round of 16.
Oyarzabal reached his 22nd goal contribution in his last 14 international matches.
Despite failing to score against Cape Verde and Uruguay, Oyarzabal has reached five goal contributions in the current World Cup edition.
Unai Simón, Spain's goalkeeper, broke the record for the most clean sheets without conceding goals in the World Cup.
Simón has now reached 519 minutes without conceding a goal in the World Cup, surpassing the previous record held by Italian Walter Zenga at 517 minutes.
