Spain booked their place in the World Cup last 16 with an impressive 3-0 victory over Austria in Los Angeles, producing one of their most complete performances of the tournament so far.
The European champions controlled the game from start to finish, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring twice and Pedro Porro adding a second-half goal to end Austria's World Cup campaign.
Spain thought they had taken the lead midway through the first half when Marc Cucurella found the net, but the goal was ruled out after the referee judged that the defender had fouled the goalkeeper in the build-up.
The setback did little to slow Luis de la Fuente's side. They continued to dominate possession and finally broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when Oyarzabal calmly finished to give Spain the lead they deserved.
Austria attempted to respond after the break, with manager Ralf Rangnick introducing striker Sasa Kalajdzic, whose late goal against Algeria had helped send his side into the knockout stage.
Kalajdzic nearly made an immediate impact, but he headed over the crossbar with his first chance, missing Austria's best opportunity to get back into the contest.
Spain quickly made the miss count. Pedro Porro doubled the advantage in the 66th minute, heading home from Álex Baena's cross to put the result beyond doubt.
Oyarzabal completed the scoring in the closing stages, finishing from Cucurella's cross to seal a convincing victory and take his World Cup tally to four goals.
While Spain were not at their fluent best during the group stage, they have now gone through the tournament without conceding a goal. The win also extended their unbeaten run in competitive matches over 90 minutes to 34 games.
Teenage star Lamine Yamal once again showed flashes of his outstanding talent, giving Spain another attacking threat as they continue their pursuit of a second World Cup title.
Speaking after the match, Oyarzabal said he was pleased to contribute to the team's progress.
"I'm happy to help the team and get through to the next round. They were a physical side and difficult to play against, but we played a good match," he said.
"We're happy to qualify. It doesn't matter who we face in the next round. I have friends in both teams."
Despite the comfortable victory, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente insisted there is still room for improvement.
"We knew it would be an important match, especially in this knockout stage," he said.
"In every aspect, we were almost perfect. But there are still a few little things to improve. Every match is going to be more difficult than the last, and we need to keep this mentality."
Spain will now face either Portugal or Croatia in the last 16 as they continue their bid for World Cup glory.

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