Spain eased into the round of 16 by hammering a hapless Austria 3-0 in Los Angeles.
Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal either side of Pedro Porro’s header were enough for la Roja to send their fellow Europeans out of the competition.
Unsurprisingly, Luis de la Fuente’s men had the better of the opening stages and Lamine Yamal sent off a warning shot inside the first minute. His effort from the edge of the box was comfortable for Alexander Schlager however.
Marc Cucurella briefly thought he’d given la Roja the lead not long after. The full-back pounced on a loose ball in the box after a melee at a corner, but the referee pulled it back for a foul on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
Yamal started to come into the game and get the better of Konrad Laimer who had been moved into left-back to try and keep him quiet.
When the opener finally did come it was Mikel Oyarzabal who applied the finishing touch. Cucurella’s low cross found the Real Sociedad forward who coolly slotted home with his left foot.
The woodwork came to Austria’s rescue first-half stoppage time. Alex Baena’s fine free-kick crashed back off the crossbar and Yamal fired a follow-up shot straight at Schlager after some confusion among the Austrian defenders.
Burschen offered little threat of their own, but one of their best chances fell to Sasa Kalajdzic. The substitute didn’t quite connect fully with Marcel Sabitzer’s in-swinging cross however and it looped up over the bar.
It always felt like a matter of time before Spain would get their second goal and it finally came just before the second-half hydration break. After a patient, passing move, Baena found space on the left and guided a cross in to Pedro Porro, who arrived with perfect timing to power a header past Schlager.
Spain were in total control at this point. Yamal came close to getting his goal just before being subbed off – but his left-footed shot on the turn was cleared off the line by the covering David Alaba.
La Roja got a deserved third and Oyarzabal a second as we approached injury-time. Cucurella again broke free down the left and slid in a low cross for the striker to finish off his 12th goal in his last 10 international matches.
Spain proceed with aplomb and they’ll now remain in Los Angeles for a round of 16 tie against another European opponent in the shape of either Croatia or neighbours Portugal on July 6.
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