European champions Spain dominate Austria 3-0 to reach the last 16, setting up a potential clash with Portugal in the knockout stage.
LOS ANGELES: European champions Spain cruised into the last 16 of the World Cup on Thursday with a dominant 3-0 win over Austria to set up a potential showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header sealed victory for the Spaniards, who produced their most complete performance of the tournament to advance to the next round.
Spain opened their World Cup campaign with a faltering 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, but have subsequently built momentum with each match.
With Spanish movie stars Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem in the 70,492 crowd at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on Thursday, Spain were always in control against a limited Austrian side who failed to register a single shot on goal.
Oyarzabal fired Spain into the lead in the 36th minute, sweeping in a low finish to crown a slick passing move, and more deft inter-play set up Porro to head home the second in the 66th minute.
Real Sociedad striker Oyarzabal grabbed his second in the 89th minute, coolly tucking away a low finish from Marc Cucurella’s pinpoint cross.
– Ronaldo v Modric –
Spain will now face the winner of Portugal’s last-32 clash with Croatia taking place in Toronto later on Thursday, which will see former Real Madrid team-mates Ronaldo and Luka Modric line up against each other.
The game in Toronto marks the first time that two outfield players aged over 40 — Ronaldo and Modric — will take to the same field in a World Cup match.
The late match on Thursday will see Algeria take on Switzerland, attempting to avoid becoming the latest African team to fall by the wayside in the knockout rounds following the demise of Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal. Only Morocco have gone through to the last 16.
Algeria has never won a World Cup knockout game in four previous trips to the tournament.
Thursday’s action takes place after another spellbinding day of drama on Wednesday that saw England stumble into the last 16 thanks to two late goals from captain Harry Kane against DR Congo in Atlanta.
Kane’s double secured a 2-1 win and headed off a monumental upset. England will now face a daunting trip to take on Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday.
Belgium meanwhile snatched an improbable 3-2 victory over Senegal despite trailing 2-0 with four minutes of normal time remaining.
Senegal had a turbulent start to the year when they won the Africa Cup of Nations final in January, a victory later awarded on appeal in March to opponents and tournament hosts Morocco.
The United States booked their place in the last 16, where they will face Belgium, after a 2-0 defeat of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara, California.
The US win was bittersweet though with star striker Folarin Balogun — who scored the opening US goal — receiving a red card in the second half which will rule him out of the Belgium game.
Balogun’s dismissal even registered on the radar at the upper levels of the United States government, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Thursday that the team had been “screwed” by the red card.
