As another day of World Cup matches comes to an end, Spain and Portugal have emerged victorious and are destined to face off in the Round of 16.
Spain kept its championship hopes alive on July 2 by beating Austria 3–0 in the first knockout round of 32.
Fans in Los Angeles saw the Rojas first find the back of the net deep into the first half. Mikel Oyarzabal deflected a pass from Marc Cucurella deep in the attacking zone 36 minutes into the match.
Austria held Spain off for the remainder of the half, and well into the second. But a charging Pedro Porro would send the ball past the goal line off a pass from Alex Baena, finishing an attack set in motion by Cucurella.
The Rojas’ third goal was Oyarzabal’s second of the day, capitalizing on yet another pass from Cucurella down low in the 89th minute.
Those three goals came off 23 shot attempts and 10 shots on goal throughout the 90 minutes, putting the Austrian defense and goalkeeper Alexander Schlager to work. Austria, meanwhile, was able to get five shots on goal. But four were off target, and one was blocked.
This win marks Spain’s fourth consecutive clean sheet of the World Cup. No team has been able to score on Spain yet.
Portugal, later that night, had a tougher fight against Croatia in Toronto.
After a scoreless first half, it was Croatia who drew first blood. Ivan Perisic was left all alone just outside the six-yard box and delivered a clear shot past goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the 53rd minute.
But the lead would not last. Portugal would go on to draw a foul on a corner kick, earning a penalty kick. The crowd came alive as Portugal’s favorite son, Cristiano Ronaldo, stepped up to take the penalty and, with it, secure the crucial equalizer in the 68th minute.
This penalty marked Ronaldo’s first-ever goal in a World Cup knockout game. However, it will not count toward his push for the World Cup golden boot, as goals earned on penalty kicks do not count.
Portugal’s winning goal came from Gonçalo Ramos four minutes into the 10-minute stoppage time. But Croatia kept pressuring, ultimately logging more shots than their opponents.
At least three would-be goals, including a would-be equalizer 13 minutes into stoppage time, were called back throughout the game due to players being offside.
A Battle of the Iberian Peninsula is now scheduled for 3 p.m. on July 6 in Dallas. The winner of that game will go on to play either Team USA or Belgium in the quarter-finals in Los Angeles on July 10.
