Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice and Marc Cucurella provided both assists as Spain eased into the last sixteen with a 3-0 demolition of Austria at SoFi Stadium, a result that never looked in doubt from the moment the Basque striker broke the deadlock just before half-time. This was a performance that confirmed everything Spain's supporters would already have suspected: the European champions are moving through the gears at precisely the right moment.
Spain were, quite simply, a different class. They finished the evening with 65 per cent possession, 613 passes completed at 91 per cent accuracy, and 22 shots to Austria's five. Austria did not register a single attempt on target across 94 minutes. The expected goals figures told the same story: 2.80 for Spain, 0.49 for Austria. Ralf Rangnick's side were not outfought so much as outthought, outrun, and ultimately outclassed on a night when the gulf in quality between the sides was wider than any scoreline can fully capture.
The opening goal arrived on 36 minutes and was as representative of the match as any single moment could be. Cucurella, advancing from left-back with the conviction of a midfielder, found Oyarzabal, who converted to make it 1-0. Austria had offered some resistance to that point, defending with shape and discipline, but once Spain had their lead the game settled into a familiar pattern: possession, patience, and the slow suffocation of the opponent. Rangnick set his side up in a 4-2-3-1 to mirror Spain's structure, but that symmetry masked a huge disparity in quality across every line.
The second goal, on 66 minutes, came from an unlikely source. Pedro Porro, the right-back, met an Alex Baena delivery to double the advantage. Baena had been operating with real authority on Spain's right side for much of the match, and his assist was thoroughly deserved. Austria, already being dragged around a pitch they could barely see the ball on, had no answer to the width Spain were generating on both flanks. Their back four were required to defend almost continuously, with no sustained period of respite in which to build anything going forward.
Rangnick withdrew both Nicolas Seiwald and Xaver Schlager at half-time, but the double change made little impression. Carney Chukwuemeka and Florian Grillitsch arrived to try to provide something more from midfield, and while Grillitsch showed flickers of ambition in possession, the tide did not shift. Romano Schmid and Michael Gregoritsch also came off at the hour mark, a signal that Rangnick had largely conceded the contest and was protecting his players from further punishment.
Oyarzabal wrapped it up in the 89th minute, again supplied by Cucurella, completing a brace that had been a matter of time for much of the second half. Alexander Schlager made six saves across the evening and kept the score from becoming something considerably more emphatic. Without him, De la Fuente's side might well have had five.
Rodri controlled the tempo without drama from deep. Pedri was consistently sharp in tight spaces. Lamine Yamal kept Posch busy throughout the first hour before being replaced on 85 minutes. The Spain back four were barely troubled, and Unai Simón was not called upon to make a single save, which is the finest compliment a goalkeeper can receive.
Spain advance to the last sixteen in commanding form. Austria, despite genuine promise from Marcel Sabitzer and the youthful Paul Wanner, are going home. The gap in quality on this showing was not a product of the scoreline; it was the scoreline that was the product of the gap.