Los Angeles: Spain delivered a commanding performance at the Los Angeles Stadium, defeating a resilient but ultimately outmatched Austria 3-0 to secure their place in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16.

From the opening whistle, La Roja asserted total dominance, starving Ralf Rangnick’s side of possession with crisp, signature passing.

The breakthrough arrived in the 36th minute when Marc Cucurella made a sharp overlapping run down the left flank and delivered a perfectly weighted, low cutback for Mikel Oyarzabal, who calmly slotted home an easy tap-in to give Spain a well-deserved halftime cushion.

Austria attempted to mount a response early in the second half, with Marcel Sabitzer orchestrating a couple of dangerous sequences, including a cross that substitute Kalajdžić headed agonisingly over the bar. 

Following an intricate spell of buildup play just outside the penalty box, Alex Baena scooped a magnificent, pinpoint cross into the area, allowing right-back Pedro Porro to ghost in completely unmarked and bullet an emphatic header past Alexander Schlager.

As the clock ticked down, Austria’s defensive structure entirely collapsed, leaving gaping holes right through the centre of their backline.

In the 89th minute, Spain put the exclamation point on a masterful display with another brilliant team move. Cucurella found space once again and slipped a precise pass to an unmarked Oyarzabal, who routinely fired home his second of the night to seal the 3-0 victory.

With their clinical attacking rhythm and defensive solidity fully intact, the European champions now march forward to face either Portugal or Croatia in the next round.