Spain finally have World Cup mojo back with first ...
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- Spain beat Austria 3-0 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., advancing to the round of 16 and earning their first World Cup knockout-stage win since the 2010 final — a drought spanning exits to the group stage in 2014, hosts Russia in 2018, and Morocco on penalties in 2022.
- Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice (36th minute and a late first-time finish from Cucurella's cross) and Pedro Porro headed in Álex Baena's delivery, with Oyarzabal's opener being the first Spanish World Cup knockout goal since Andrés Iniesta's iconic extra-time strike in the 2010 final.
- Oyarzabal now has 17 goals and 6 assists across his last 17 Spain appearances, and has been directly involved in five of Spain's eight tournament goals — moving him past all but six players (David Villa, Raúl González, Fernando Torres, Álvaro Morata, David Silva, Fernando Hierro) on Spain's all-time scoring list.
- Lamine Yamal was named match MVP after repeatedly pushing for a first World Cup goal (early shot in the 2nd minute, follow-up saved after Baena hit the bar, effort cleared off the line), telling reporters afterward: "The World Cup starts now."
- Austria coach Ralf Rangnick acknowledged his side's pressing game plan worked only while the score was 1-0: "We were in the game as long as it was 1-0... We would have had a chance to go through, against anyone else."
- Luis de la Fuente defended his squad's slow group-stage form, saying "As the days go by, I believe even more" and labeling the Austria performance "almost perfection," while the source notes Spain's Cucurella had an earlier goal disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
Why it matters: Spain's last three knockout exits (2014 group stage, 2018 to Russia, 2022 to Morocco on penalties) had turned a serial European champion into a World Cup knockout underperformer — and Oyarzabal's opener ended a goal drought in knockout play stretching back 15 years to Iniesta's 2010 final strike. With Yamal and Oyarzabal both firing, the reigning European champions now look like the most credible threat to end their World Cup title gap, and de la Fuente's "best in the world" claim finally has a result to back it up.
