The Spanish national team was not impressed by Austria’s defensive tactics and won the round of 32 match in Los Angeles convincingly 3-0. Austria had tried to take the joy out of the game for the favorites, but Spain stuck to its own approach: play to its strengths, regardless of the opponent. The opponent simply had to adapt.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored the first goal in the 36th minute after a combination involving Alex Baena and Marc Cucurella. Baena drew several Austrian defenders out of position with a run, Cucurella passed across, and Oyarzabal finished. After the break, Pedro Porro headed in to make it 2-0 (66th minute), again following setup play by Baena and Cucurella. Oyarzabal sealed the win with his second goal for the final 3-0 scoreline.
Austria’s coach Ralf Rangnick had said before the match: ‘The Austria that you could see hasn’t been seen yet.’ After falling behind, he brought on Marko Arnautovic and Sasa Kalajdzic, but the change did not turn the tide. Spain controlled the game from then on and celebrated advancing to the round of 16 to chants of ‘Olé’ from the crowd.
Source: www.sueddeutsche.de
