Spain waltzes past Austria into the World Cup Round of 16

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN

(CNN) — Spain is through to the Round of 16 after a relatively painless 3-0 victory over Austria in SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles.

Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and another from Pedro Porro were more than enough to ease the European champion’s path into the World Cup’s next knockout phase. Spain will next face the winner of this evening’s match between Portugal and Croatia in the next round.

While the Austrians had opportunities in the opening few minutes, the pitch at SoFi Stadium felt heavily tilted toward the Austrian goal as Spain – one of the favorites to win the World Cup later this month – had most of the possession and most of the opportunities.

Spain put the ball in the back of the net in the 29th minute after a corner kick pinged around in the box before Marc Cucurella pounced on the loose ball and sent it home. However, the goal was quickly ruled out for a foul while the corner was in air – the referee ruled Alexander Schlager was impeded by a Spanish player while trying to punch the ball clear.

The breakthrough came in the 37th minute off a beautifully worked team goal. Barcelona’s Dani Olmo played in Cucurella down the Spanish left. The new Real Madrid star took one touch and fired a cross into the box. Oyarzabal was left alone in the middle of the Austrian penalty area and hit the ball first time into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Spain nearly doubled its lead just before halftime on a free kick from Álex Baena, whose effort eluded Schlager and hit the crossbar. The ball popped up in the air and Austria couldn’t clear, allowing Lamine Yamal a close-range opportunity that was denied by the Austrian keeper.

As the second half started, the Austrians began to eke forward a bit more, but the Spanish still controlled most of the play. The killer goal came in the 66th minute as the Spanish pinged the ball around the edge of the box before Cucurella slid a crucial pass down the left side of the Austrian box to Baena, who sent in a whipped cross.

The ball found the head of Porro, who nodded it into the open net and made it 2-0 just a couple of minutes before the second-half hydration break.

Oyarzabal added another as the match neared its end, once again getting on the end of a Cucurella cross and finding himself totally unmarked behind the Austrian defense. His finish was clinical and the Spanish were well and truly on Easy Street.

Spain’s next match in the Round of 16 will come at 3 p.m. ET on July 6 and will know its opponent by dinner time on the West Coast on Thursday night.

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