Spain advanced to the World Cup round of 16 with a dominant 3-0 victory over Austria on Thursday powered by a double from Mikel Oyarzabal and another outstanding defensive effort.
Spain, who arrived at the tournament among the favourites and have yet to concede a goal, will next face Portugal for a place in the quarter-finals.
The Spaniards started brightly, with Lamine Yamal repeatedly troubling Austria’s defence as La Roja pressed for an early breakthrough on a sunny day in Southern California.
Spain thought they had gone ahead on a short-range shot by Marc Cucurella, but the effort was ruled out for a foul on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
The pressure finally paid off when Marc Cucurella whipped a precise cross into the area and Oyarzabal steered it into the bottom corner, igniting the Spain-heavy crowd.
Schlager kept Austria in the match before half-time, producing back-to-back saves from a free kick and the ensuing scramble to ensure his side went into the interval trailing by only one.
Austria’s best opportunity of the second half came when a lovely cross into the box was headed by Sasa Kalajdzic, but the ball landed harmlessly on top of the goal.
Austria, who squeaked into the knockout round with a last-gasp goal to draw with Algeria, struggled to create clear chances against a Spain side who remained composed in possession and disciplined at the back to continue their clean sheet streak at the tournament.
Pedro Porro added Spain’s second in the 66th minute with a header into the middle of the net in front of a sold-out crowd that included Spanish actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.
Oyarzabal struck again in the 89th minute for his fourth goal of the tournament following a defensive lapse by a visibly frustrated Austrian side.
Spain, World Cup winners in 2010, made an uncertain start to the tournament with a goalless draw against Cape Verde that raised questions about their form.
But they were far more assured against Austria and will take encouragement from the performance of 18-year-old Lamine, who looked to have shaken off the hamstring injury that hampered him earlier in the tournament.
