Spain and Austria are set to clash today at 22:00 in the Round of 16 of the World Cup, with the match taking place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The game will be broadcasted live on Antena 1 and available for streaming on AntenaPLAY.
The winner will advance to the quarter-finals to face either Portugal or Croatia.
To date, teams such as Paraguay, France, Canada, Morocco, the USA, Belgium, Brazil, Norway, England, and Mexico have already secured their spots in the knockout stage.
Starting Lineups for Spain vs. Austria
Spain (4-2-3-1): Simon – P. Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella – Rodri, Pedri – Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Baena – Oyarzabal. Bench: J. Garcia, Raya, E. Garcia, Gavi, Grimaldo, B. Iglesias, M. Llorente, Merino, Munoz, Y. Pino, Pubill, F. Ruiz, F. Torres, N. Williams, Zubimendi. Coach: Luis de la Fuente.
Austria (4-2-3-1): A. Schlager – Posch, Danso, Alaba, Laimer – Seiwald, X. Schlager – Schmid, Wanner, Sabitzer – Gregoritsch. Bench: Wiegele, Pentz, Affengruber, M. Arnautovic, Chukwuemeka, Friedl, Grillitsch, Kalajdzic, Lienhart, Ljubicic, Mwene, Prass, Schopf, Svoboda, Wimmer. Coach: Ralf Rangnick.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden). Stadium: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles.
Spain and Austria Compete for Knockout Stage Advancement
Spain enters this match as the defending European champion and a favorite for the World Cup, though their group stage performance has raised some concerns.
Their campaign started poorly with a goalless draw against Cape Verde, which was unexpected, and while they managed a narrow 1-0 victory over Uruguay, expectations from the Iberians remain high.
Luis de la Fuente’s squad must elevate their game against a resilient Austrian team, which faced a decisive group stage match. Austria drew 3-3 with Algeria, surviving elimination after conceding a late goal, thanks to a dramatic equalizer in the 90+6 minute.
This match marks Austria’s first knockout game since 1954, having played five previous elimination matches all against European opponents.
Austria secured their only World Cup encounter victory over Spain in 1978, winning 2-1.
“We continue to grow under pressure; I like that we have high expectations. Now it’s up to us to meet those expectations, as there is no margin for error. We must win the next match. The competition is different, opponents are different, and there are different styles of football. We need to refine our approach and progress.” – Luis de la Fuente, Head Coach of Spain
“We are extremely underdogs. We could not be more of an underdog in this match. We would probably lose seven, eight, or even nine out of ten matches against Spain. We need to ensure this isn’t the tenth. Everyone needs to be at their best. We must be remarkable tactically and physically. We have already played against the reigning world champion and now we face the reigning European champion… if we manage to pull off an upset, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal might await us in the next match.” – Ralf Rangnick, Head Coach of Austria
