Oyarzabal at the double as imperious Spain swat aside Austria to seal last-16 spot

Both sides found their way in behind the respective defences inside the first few minutes, with Lamine Yamal firing off the first tester as the contest began to shape up nicely for the neutrals.

Though the threat of an Austrian fast break was never far away, Spain began to get a grasp on the contest, as Aymeric Laporte went closest from a succession of early corners.

It looked as though they had made the breakthrough shortly after the hydration break, with Marc Cucurella slamming the ball home from another corner kick, but the on-field referee controversially chalked it out for an apparent foul on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

The pressure intensified further as the half progressed, and Schlager had to be really sharp to tip an effort from Oyarzabal past the post, moments after denying Lamine as well.

But Das Team’s resistance couldn’t survive until the break, and Oyarzabal supplied the finish this time after a nice pick-out from Cucurella.

Only the crossbar prevented Alex Baena from doubling the lead with a brilliant free-kick on the stroke of half time, with Lamine somehow unable to smuggle in the follow-up after some pinball in the box.

The pattern of the game did not change after the restart, as Ralf Rangnick’s side held on by the skin of their teeth under incessant waves of pressure.

Yet anything remained possible with the lead at just one goal, and target man Sasa Kalajdzic sent a header just over the Spain bar shortly after being summoned from the bench.

However, it was a header from a less likely source that effectively settled the issue, Pedro Porro popping up in the box to nod home Baena’s cross for his first international goal.

That put Spain into cruise control, and Lamine came close to adding a third when he saw an effort blocked off the line by David Alaba.

In the end, it was Oyarzabal who put the icing on the cake, coolly converting another Cucurella cross in the 89th minute.

Spain can now look ahead to a match against the winners of Portugal vs Croatia, and an unbeaten run of 14 matches is an ominous sign for whoever ends up facing them.

This is the end of the line for Austria, but a first WC knockout appearance since 1954 should leave Rangnick reasonably satisfied.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain)

See all the stats from the match here