Spain, Portugal and Switzerland all secured their places in the FIFA World Cup 2026 last 16 after overcoming Austria, Croatia and Algeria, respectively, in Friday’s round of 32 action.
Spain produced one of their best performances of the tournament to cruise past Austria, while Portugal edged Croatia in a dramatic encounter to set up an all-Iberian showdown in the next round.
Switzerland also advanced with a comfortable victory over Algeria and will now face either Colombia or Ghana for a place in the quarter-finals.
Oyarzabal brace sends Spain through
Spain eased into the last 16 with a convincing 3-0 victory over Austria at the SoFi Stadium.
After dominating possession throughout the opening stages, the breakthrough arrived in the 37th minute when Mikel Oyarzabal fired home.
Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s advantage shortly after the restart, heading in from Alex Baena’s inviting cross to leave Austria with a mountain to climb.
Oyarzabal completed both his brace and Spain’s victory in the closing stages, calmly finishing after another well-worked move as Luis de la Fuente’s side sealed a dominant win without conceding a shot on target.
Spain have now kept four consecutive clean sheets at the tournament.
Portugal survive Croatia scare
Portugal booked their place in.the last 16 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Croatia in Toronto.
The first half was goalless, but Croatia were quick to capitalise in the second half, with Ivan Perisic opening the scoring.
Not long after, both sides had two goals ruled out for offside, before Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty to even the score.
Croatia thought they had found a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time, only for the goal to be ruled out for an offside.
In stoppage time, it was Portugal who found the winner, with substitute Goncalo Ramos keeping Portugal’s World Cup hopes alive.
The victory sets up a mouth-watering last-16 clash with European champions Spain in what promises to be one of the standout fixtures of the knockout stage.
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Switzerland continue impressive run
Switzerland continued their impressive World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over Algeria, marking their first World Cup knockout win in 88 years.
Breel Embolo gave the Swiss an early lead after finishing off an excellent move created by Johan Manzambi, whose dazzling run split open the Algerian defence.
Dan Ndoye doubled the advantage just after half-time with a composed finish, putting Murat Yakin’s side firmly in control.
Algeria pushed for a way back into the contest but struggled to trouble Gregor Kobel as Switzerland comfortably saw out the result.
The Swiss have now won three consecutive matches after opening the tournament with a draw and will face either Colombia or Ghana in the round of 16 as they continue their bid for a historic World Cup run.
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