Spain eased into the last 16 of the World Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over Austria in Los Angeles, goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro doing the damage as Luis de la Fuente’s side finally found the fluency that had eluded them for much of the group stage.

Ralf Rangnick’s Austria, appearing in their first World Cup knockout tie since 1954, gave a spirited account of themselves without ever truly threatening an upset, and Spain now turn their attention to a round of 16 clash against either Portugal or Croatia.

Spain took the lead in the 38th minute when Marc Cucurella picked out Mikel Oyarzabal inside the box, and the forward made no mistake in guiding a composed finish beyond Alexander Schlager. Austria pushed for an equaliser without ever really testing Unai Simon, before Pedro Porro’s header and Oyarzabal’s tap-in put the game out of reach.

Spain Player Ratings

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Marc Cucurella was one of the standout performers for La Roja, grabbing two assists and being a constant menace down the left throughout.

Oyarzabal and Porro took their chances well when they arrived, while Alex Baena caught the eye with his energy and the assist for the second goal. Lamine Yamal had flashes of brilliance without quite hitting his ceiling, nutmegging Austrians at will, and Spain’s defence was rarely troubled behind a dominant midfield. Off the bench, Mikel Merino added fresh legs late on to help Spain see out the closing stages with minimal alarm.

Austria Player Ratings

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Marcel Sabitzer was the standout performer among those who weren’t wearing a Spain shirt. He was a constant source of quality deliveries from the left and the architect of Austria’s most dangerous moments throughout.

Sasa Kalajdzic almost snatched a goal within seconds of coming on, glancing a header narrowly over the bar from a Sabitzer cross, and Austria can leave the tournament with their heads held high after reaching the knockout stages in a World Cup for the first time since 1954.

Cucurella and Oyarzabal Combine To Break The Deadlock

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Spain were the dominant force for the best part of 40 minutes without ever really threatening, before Cucurella’s quality finally told. The left-back did the legwork down the flank, picking out Oyarzabal inside the box, and the forward guided it beyond Schlager to break Austria’s resistance. It could have been more before that, with Cucurella having a strike ruled out for interference on the Austrian goalkeeper when we reacted fast to a loose ball following a corner.

Pedro Porro’s First International Goal

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Spain put the game to bed midway through the second half, when Cucurella again started the move, feeding Baena on the left, and the Villarreal man put in a cross for Porro to head home his first international goal. Kalajdzic almost pulled one back moments later, but Austria’s resistance ultimately broke, with de la Fuente’s substitutions helping Spain see out the closing stages in complete control.

American streaming sensation IShowSpeed is risking a breach of his own rule in his attempt to watch Cristiano Ronaldo in action.

Ronaldo is set to captain Portugal in tonight’s World Cup Round of 32 clash against Croatia at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada. Speed has attended and streamed games throughout the tournament.

The YouTuber is a Ronaldo superfan and has followed the former Manchester United star around the globe, including watching him play for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. He had been looking to attend Portugal’s meeting with Croatia but his plans have been thrown into jeopardy.

Speed Had Sworn Not to Visit Canada

Speed sent out an urgent message on X after his plane to Canada was cancelled. He wrote to his followers: “Who has a jet or plane in san francisco???? i need to get to toronto my plane got cancelled and now i can’t see ronaldo play this is so bad please helpppppoppp.”

Should the 21-year-old manage to board a flight to Toronto, he’ll be visiting the country for the first time. He previously swore to never visit Canada due to a family grievance.

Back in May 2025, Speed revealed that his grandfather had been killed by a Canadian. He told his fans on a livestream:

Speed plans to livestream Portugal’s encounter with Croatia on his YouTube channel. The stream is set to go live one hour before kick off and he’s in a rush to get to the stadium in time due to his flight being cancelled.

The popular streamer has already attended several World Cup games held in the USA. He has embarked on a tour in collaboration with FIFA and even met with president Gianni Infantino ahead of the tournament co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Speed Predicted World Cup Glory For Ronaldo

REUTERS/Darren Staples

Ronaldo has yet to win a World Cup during his illustrious career and it’s the one trophy evading his glistening trophy cabinet. This is likely his last chance to do so as he is now 41 and will be 45 when the tournament is co-hosted by Portugal in 2030.

Speed vowed to attend as many games as possible including every Portugal game to watch the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. He told FOX Sports: “The World Cup is in America, right? So, I can be anywhere. Obviously, I’m pulling up to every game, every Portugal game.”

Speed backed Ronaldo to finally become a world champion after he captained Portugal to the UEFA Nations League in June 2025:

If Portugal beat Croatia, they will face Spain, who beat Austria 3-0 in the Round of 32 earlier in the day. Should Roberto Martinez’s team advance to the quarter-finals, they could face the USA, posing a massive dilemma for Speed given his admiration for Ronaldo.

An early scare nearly cost the United States in their 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 at the World Cup on Wednesday night.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men beat the Bosnians in a tense match courtesy of goals from Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman. They played the last 26 minutes with ten men after Balogun’s controversial sending-off.

Bosnia almost took a shock early lead just minutes into the game when the USA defence either forgot or were unaware of a rule. They avoided conceding after American goalkeeper Matt Freese denied Ermedin Demirovic.

Goal-Kick Rule Nearly Cost USA vs Bosnia

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That move came from Nikola Vasilj’s goal kick, which he pumped upfield to find former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko. Pochettino’s defence had pushed up and allowed the ball to arrive for the Bosnia skipper, perhaps thinking he had been in an offside position.

Dzeko then found Demirovic, whose effort was punched away by Freese. This served as a wake-up call for the Americans, whose lapse in concentration almost led to the European minnows opening the scoring.

USA eventually booked their place in the Round of 16 with a clash against Belgium on Tuesday (July 7th). For Dzeko and Bosnia, they will rue not making the most of the early opportunity, which was just one of four shots they managed on target throughout the game.

Some fans will have been quick to find out why Dzeko hadn’t been ruled offside. That’s because the rules state that “no one can be offside directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner.”

‘I’m Shook’ – Fans Stunned by Rule

Reuters/Steven Bisig

The early chance for the Bosnians courtesy of a goal-kick appeared to shock many viewers of last night’s game. Some have only just learned about the rule that has led to some iconic goals.

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson had a habit of picking his man out with a goal kick to hit the opposition on the counter. It’s a clever tactic which can often throw the defending team off.

One fan wrote on X after seeing Bosnia try to use it to their advantage: “I was today year old when I knew that you cannot be called offside from a goal kick.”

Another supporter added: “Ain’t no way this is a rule?”

One was equally as shocked: “I have been watching soccer all my life and I did not know this rule.”

Another wrote: “Not gonna lie, it’s something I’ve never seen in my whole life until this point. I’m shook.”

One replied: “You can randomly wake up, and a new football rule just spun out of nowhere.”

This is not a new football rule and has, in fact, been in effect since 1866, when the FA began drafting the official laws of the game. It’s a major reason managers like sweeper keepers who are good with their feet and can find attackers with pinpoint accuracy.