Luis de La Fuente said Spain played an almost perfect match as they beat Austria 3-0 in the World Cup Round of 32. After some fairly routine performances in the group stage, Spain produced their best performance of the tournament at the start of the knockout stage to sweep their fellow European opponents aside to remind everyone why they are one of the key contenders at this World Cup.Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice, either side of a Pedro Porro header in a performance which saw the Euro 2024 have 22 shots and have 65% possession and De La Fuente was delighted to see his team turn up at a crucial stage of the tournament.The Spain boss told RTVE: The big teams turn up when their presence is needed I think today weve seen a great game. Im happy because in all aspects weve been almost perfect but we have to keep improving. Every match now is going to be very difficult.In the last 16, the opponents are now even more demanding You can always improve and on top of that, its what this team demands. These players always want more and more. [Oyarzabal] showed the footballing potential he has and the rest of his team-mates exactly the same. They played an extraordinary match.Spain seem to be getting better as they go at this tournament, with this display a huge improvement on the one which drew 0-0 to Cape Verde in their opener, and De La Fuente urged his side to keep making sure that trend continues as they reach the latter stages.He added: We knew it would be an important match, especially in this knockout stage. We had the previous games in mind and, in every aspect, we were almost perfect. But there are still a few little things to improve. We can always do better. Every match is going to be more difficult than the last. We need to keep this mentality.Oyarzabal: Whether its Portugal or Croatia bring it onAside from perhaps Lamine Yamal who impressed throughout, double goalscorer Oyarzabal grabbed plenty of the headlines with two confident finishes to take his recent Spain record to 17 goals in 16 starts for his country.The Real Sociedad man said: I am happy because I got to help my team. We made it through to the next game and now we need to rest. A pretty complicated match, we knew it would be difficult. They were quite a physical team. It was a great day, a great match and we are happy.I believe some of the matches have been good, others perhaps not that good but we are going to keep on going.Croatia or Portugal [in the quarter-finals]? I dont know. I have a friend in each team, so bring them on. Topics Austria National Football Team Lamine Yamal Mikel Oyarzabal Spain National Football Team Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Spain 3-0 Austria: Report, result and goals as La Roja cruise into last 16 Cian Cheesbrough 2nd July, 2026 WATCH: Oyarzabal goal sets Spain on way to World Cup last 16 moments after Cucurella controversially denied opener Mitch Fretton 2nd July, 2026 LIVE Spain v Austria: Commentary, updates, goals and stats for World Cup round-of-32 clash Jon Fisher 1st July, 2026 World Cup 2026 live: Spain vs Austria confirmed teams and full line ups, TV channel, live online stream and stats Mitch Fretton 2nd July, 2026 Spain boss loves Yamal bravado: You take things out of context he is a boy Ben Miller 2nd July, 2026 Spain v Austria: World Cup 2026 line-ups, stats and preview, TV channel, live online stream and prediction Jon Fisher 1st July, 2026
