Spain end World Cup knockout hoodoo with commanding Austria win

Spain ended a 16-year wait for a World Cup knockout victory with a convincing 3-0 win over Austria in the Round of 32, booking their place in the last 16 with a dominant display on Friday.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored a brace, increasing his goal tally in the running World Cup to four, and Pedro Porro scored his first goal for La Rojas as Spain prevailed over Austria in a mostly one-sided contest.

The final whistle confirmed Spain's place in the Round of 16 and their first World Cup knockout win since lifting the trophy in 2010.

The Spaniards controlled possession from the outset and repeatedly threatened through Lamine Yamal, whose early effort was comfortably gathered by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

Yamal continued to trouble the Austrian defence, winning corners and testing the back line with his pace, while Dani Olmo also went close after meeting Pedro Porro's low cross.

Austria struggled to create openings despite occasional counter-attacks, with Spain's defence comfortably dealing with crosses aimed at Michael Gregoritsch.

Spain thought they had taken the lead midway through the first half when Marc Cucurella fired home, but the goal was ruled out after the referee judged Austria goalkeeper Schlager had been impeded. VAR upheld the decision.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 36th minute. Cucurella delivered a low cross behind the Austrian defence and Mikel Oyarzabal guided a first-time finish beyond Schlager.

Spain almost doubled their lead before the break as Alex Baena struck the crossbar from a free-kick before Yamal's follow-up was saved, leaving Luis de la Fuente's side 1-0 ahead at half-time.

Austria introduced Marko Arnautovic and Sasa Kalajdzic after the restart in search of an equaliser, and the latter headed over with his first touch.

Spain remained in control despite Yamal briefly appearing to struggle with a knock, continuing to create chances while limiting Austria to speculative efforts.

Their pressure was rewarded in the 66th minute when Baena crossed from the left and Porro headed home his first international goal to double Spain's advantage.

Austria enjoyed their best spell late in the match, but Chukwuemeka fired wide and Stefan Posch headed off target as Spain's defence remained untroubled.

Yamal nearly added a third before David Alaba cleared his effort off the line, with the winger later making way for Gavi after another influential performance.

Oyarzabal completed the scoring in the 89th minute, finishing first time from another Cucurella assist after a flowing passing move to seal a comprehensive victory.