Spain and Austria Battle for a Place in the World Cup Round of 16

Spain looks to take another step toward World Cup glory. Austria is the team standing in the way.

Rabat – Los Angeles Stadium hosts another high-stakes clash today as Spain and Austria square off for a place in the Round of 16.

Thirty-four games. That’s how long Spain has gone without losing, a run stretching back to March 2023. It’s an impressive streak, and it hasn’t really matched how they’ve looked in this tournament.

They opened with a flat 0-0 against Cape Verde, blew out Saudi Arabia 4-0, then scraped past Uruguay 1-0.

But Luis de la Fuente doesn’t sound worried about any of it. He told reporters this week his squad is “used to breaking records and overcoming rough patches,” which is one way of putting it. What he left out is the number that actually matters here, Spain hasn’t won a World Cup knockout match since 2010, the year they won the whole thing.

Austria’s group stage told a messier story. A 3-1 win over Jordan, then a 2-0 loss to Argentina, then a 3-3 draw with Algeria that was just enough to get through in second place.

But reaching this stage already counts for something on its own. Austria hasn’t played a World Cup knockout match since 1954, when they finished third, still the best result in the country’s history.

Marko Arnautovic has two goals so far, tops on the Austria roster. Manager Ralf Rangnick didn’t try to dress up what’s ahead when asked about it Wednesday: “We have to make one further step.”

Spain’s injury list isn’t helping matters. Yeremi Pino is out with a broken collarbone, Nico Williams is dealing with a hamstring problem, and Victor Muñoz is questionable.

Austria, meanwhile, has nobody banged up, no injuries and no suspensions.

But the recent head-to-head favors Spain heavily. The two sides have met five times, and Spain has won four, two of them by margins of at least four goals. But World Cup history has a way of not caring about recent form.

The last time these two actually met at this tournament, back in 1978, Austria won 2-1.

The winner will advance to the Round of 16, where either Portugal or Croatia awaits in another challenging knockout clash.