Spain look to step up against Austria in World Cup round of 32
With knockout football leaving no room for error, Spain will look to justify their favourites tag against an ambitious Austrian side.
Spain continue their bid for World Cup glory when they face Austria in the round of 32 on Thursday (2 July) with a place in the last 16. The winners will take on either Portugal or Croatia in the next round.
The match kicks off at 1am early Friday. (BST)
Spain arrived in the tournament among the favourites but have yet to fully hit top gear. After opening with a surprise 0-0 draw against Cabo Verde, La Roja responded with a commanding 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia before edging Uruguay 1-0 to finish top of Group H with seven points.
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Head coach Luis de la Fuente believes his side are building momentum at the right time and insists Spain are exactly where they want to be heading into the knockout stage.
"This squad is used to breaking records and overcoming rough patches; we are determined to keep moving forward," De la Fuente said.
Austria, meanwhile, are appearing in the World Cup knockout stage for the first time since 1954 after finishing runners-up in Group J.
Ralf Rangnick's side scored six goals during the group stage-one more than Spain-but now face a team unbeaten in 34 matches dating back to March 2023.
"We all know that we need to do even better tomorrow. Against Spain, this is obvious," Rangnick said. "We have to make one further step."
Spain will also look to make the most of Lamine Yamal, who has been eased back after recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in April.
The 18-year-old has featured for 141 minutes across the three group-stage matches, scoring once, and is now considered ready for a bigger workload.
Rangnick acknowledged the teenager's threat and said limiting his influence will be one of Austria's biggest priorities.
"Lamine Yamal is an excellent player, and he will be for the next 12, 13 or 14 years, maybe even longer," Rangnick said.
"He is a player that all football fans, no matter where they are from, love to watch. But it is our task tomorrow to let him have the ball as little as possible."
History favours Spain heading into the contest. La Roja are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Austria, winning four and drawing one, including victories by four-goal margins in each of the last two encounters.
Their most recent meeting came in 2009 when Spain cruised to a 5-1 win, although Austria did defeat Spain 2-1 in their only previous World Cup clash back in 1978.
Spain will be without Yeremi Pino due to a collarbone injury and Nico Williams due to a hamstring injury, while Víctor Muñoz remains a doubt with a muscle injury.
Austria have no injury or suspension concerns.
Probable XI
Spain (4-3-3): Simon; Llorente, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Pedri, Rodri, Ruiz; Yamal, Oyarzabal, Baena.
Austria (4-2-3-1): Schlager; Posch, Lienhart, Alaba, Mwene; Seiwald, Schlager; Laimer, Sabitzer, Schmid; Arnautovic.
