Man City 2026 World Cup Watch: Rodri helps Spain into mouth-watering last-16 clash

Rodri completed the full 90 minutes as Spain cruised beyond Austria in a 3-0 win to reach the last-16 of the FIFA World Cup.

The European champions dominated the pace of the game, overcoming a frustrating opening half-hour where Marc Cucurella had a goal harshly ruled out for a Pau Cubarsí foul on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 36th minute when Mikel Oyarzabal neatly swept home a low cross from Cucurella. Despite a spectacular string of saves from Schlager just before the interval – including tipping an Álex Baena free-kick onto the crossbar – Spain refused to relent in the second half.

Pedro Porro doubled the advantage in the 66th minute, storming into the penalty area to head home a precise Baena cross. Real Madrid’s new left-back Cucurella then turned provider once more in the 89th minute, sliding a perfectly weighted through-ball to Oyarzabal, who calmly slotted home his second of the night and fourth of the tournament.

Austria’s historic first knockout appearance since 1954 sputtered out with only a single off-target Sasa Kalajdžić header to show for it, leaving Spain tied with Mexico as the only nations yet to concede a goal in their first four matches.

The controlled showing sets La Roja up perfectly for a mouth-watering round-of-16 clash, where they will face either Portugal or Croatia, who go head-to-head in their own last-32 clash on Thursday night.

Rodri match statistics vs Austria

90 Minutes
108 Touches (Most)
85 Accurate Passes
92% Pass Accuracy
6 Recoveries
6 Ground Duels Won
5 Tackles
5 Accurate Long Balls
2 Clearances
2 Interceptions
2 Chances Created
2 Passes Into Final Third
1 Was Fouled
1 Aerial Duel Won
1 Headed Clearance
1 Touch In Opposition Box

Data courtesy of FotMob.