In Los Angeles, the city of stars, it was Mikel Oyarzabal, someone who does not want to be one, who established himself as such. Double from the Spanish forward, with two assists from Marc Cucurella, together with another goal from Pedro Porro sealed the 3-0 victory against Austria in the round of 32 of the World Cup 2026.
Thus, the Spanish team overcame its first World Cup qualifier since it was champion in South Africa in 2010.
Spain left behind this slab of disappointments at the first opportunity to head towards the round of 16 on its way to the second star, the great objective of its stay in the United States.
A path supported by defensive solidity. Spain’s fourth consecutive game without conceding a goal, a complete one so far in the tournament, and a historical record for Unai Simón.
The goalkeeper who has gone the most minutes without conceding a goal in a World Cup, surpassing, by two minutes, the record set by Italian Walter Zenga in the 1990 World Cup. Unai Simón’s mark now stands at 519.
And in attack, a reference that moves away from the spotlight. Mikel Oyarzabal is tired of being asked if he is undervalued, but he continues to do well on the field so that he can hear the question again.
Oyarzabal continued his love affair with Spain with a double. 17 goals and six assists in his last 17 games for Luis de la Fuente’s team.
Four goals and an assist in this 2026 World Cup in which he is emerging as the leader in attack of a Spanish team that broke the wall. First victory in a World Cup qualifier since South Africa 2010, since they were world champions for the first time.
A solid and supportive selection in the retreat against the fast transitions of Austria in search of spaces that were closing with the passing of the seconds. Dani Olmo and Pedro Porro agreed with Luis de la Fuente, for his defensive work and his offensive contribution. His two new additions to the starting eleven, repeating the one that beat Saudi Arabia. The coach already has his typical eleven.
High recovery from Spain and clairvoyance from Pedri to open the left wing for a Cucurella who did not even have to look where Oyarzabal was. Since 2021 playing together, they understand each other without looking at each other.
Cucurella’s low back pass led to Oyarzabal’s goal in the 36th minute, which conveyed Spain’s superiority on the scoreboard on the grass of the Los Angeles stadium. He could have even arrived earlier.
In the 29th minute, Cucurella himself scored, but the goal was annulled due to, at the referee’s discretion, a foul by Pau Cubarsí on the Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. An unwritten rule, which therefore does not exist, that the goalkeeper cannot be touched inside the small area, left Spain without a 1-0 lead. Germany also suffered it and it cost them elimination from the World Cup.
Lamine Yamal could have calmed down before the break, but the ball that was found in the small area after an error in Michael Gregoritsch’s clearance crashed into the chest of the Austrian goalkeeper.
Failed opportunity that highlighted the moment that Spain’s ’19’ is going through. Recovered from his muscle injury, he once again has his characteristic spark, but he was inches away from translating it into a goal or assist. Even more so when in the 84th minute David Alaba scored the goal over the line.
Konrad Laimer and Marcel Sabitzer suffered it, but Spain could not fully enjoy it, at that 100% that still seeks to be in this World Cup. On July 6 you will have another chance.
A classification that Spain was able to tie up in the 66th minute to avoid suffering. Once again, an attack on the left flank dislocated the Austrian defense, unable to keep an eye on the players entering the second line. And Pedro Porro took advantage of that space on this occasion to restore confidence in his coach.
Luis de la Fuente highlighted that the right back had “a fine foot”, but he did not need it to make it 2-0, which he celebrated after a header.
Austria’s promised high pressure came to nothing in the face of Spain’s poise and the connection between Cucurella and Oyarzabal, which was repeated in the 89th minute for the second to complete his double and the 3-0 score with which Spain equaled the best streak of games without losing in its history, the 35 that they achieved between Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque.
This is how they aligned
– Spain (3): Unai Simón; Pedro Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte (Marc Pubill, m.90), Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri (Fabián, m.90), Dani Olmo (Mikel Merino, m.71); Lamine Yamal (Gavi, m.85), Oyarzabal and Álex Baena (Ferran Torres, m.71).
– Selector: Luis de la Fuente.
– Austria (0): Alexander Schlager Stefan Posch (Alexander Prass, m.85), Kevin Danso, David Alaba, Konrad Laimer; Xaver Schlager (Florian Grillitsch, m.46), Nicolas Seiwald (Carney Chukwuemeka, m.46), Marcel Sabitzer, Romano Schmid (Sasa Kalajdzic, m.60), Paul Wanner; and Michael Gregoritsch (Marko Arnautovic, m.60).
– Selector: Ralf Rangnick (German).
– Goals: 1-0: Oyarzabal, m.36. 2-0: Pedro Porro, m.66. 3-0: Oyarzabal, m.89.
– Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden). He admonished Stefan Posch (m.83) for Austria.
– Incidents: World Cup round of 32 match played at the Los Angeles stadium in front of 70,492 spectators.
(With a report from Óscar Maya Belchí, from EFE)
