Spain ended a 16-year knockout drought at the World Cup on Thursday, beating Austria 3-0 in the Round of 32 at the Los Angeles Stadium in a performance their coach Luis de la Fuente called "almost perfect."
It was Spain's first win in a World Cup knockout match since they lifted the trophy in South Africa in 2010, three tournament exits in 2014, 2018 and 2022 had produced just one knockout win combined across all three.
Mikel Oyarzabal, who came into the tournament averaging a goal per 90 minutes for Real Sociedad, delivered on the biggest stage.
He opened the scoring in the 36th minute after being found inside the box by Marc Cucurella, who had a goal of his own controversially ruled out earlier for a soft foul on the Austrian goalkeeper.
Pedro Porro headed home his first international goal in the 66th minute to make it 2-0, and Oyarzabal struck his second in the 89th to complete the rout.
He is now the first Spain player to score two goals in a World Cup knockout match since Emilio Butragueno beat Denmark in 1986.
Spain's defense has been the quieter story of the tournament, five consecutive clean sheets, with goalkeeper Unai Simon setting the longest unbeaten streak in World Cup history.
After a sluggish group stage that included a goalless draw with Cape Verde, Spain have found another gear as the knockout rounds began.
They play the winner of Portugal vs Croatia on July 6 in Dallas.