INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It took Spain three weeks and four games into this World Cup to arrive fully formed, long enough to cause distinct murmuring over some of manager Luis de la Fuente's choices and a certain unease when one compared La Roja 's group stage to the waltz performed by France and Argentina .
That is all behind them now.
The Spain we saw here at SoFi Stadium on Thursday, the one that dismantled Austria 3-0 without ever seeming to break a sweat, is the Spain that won the European championship two summers ago and might go one better this summer.
Mikel Oyarzabal (21) celebrates scoring his side's third goal with his teammate Gavi during Spain's 3-0 win over Austria in the World Cup round of 32 soccer match on July 2, 20926 in Inglewood, Calif. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
"I cannot remember any unforced error they made," Austria manager Ralf Rangnick said. "I think Spain, today, really showed us their best performance. I would dare to say that we did not only [face] the European champion, but possibly the next world champion."
Rangnick, whose side had to face Argentina in the group, might be worth listening to.
It was almost galling how easy this was. Spain won the expected goals 2.84 to 0.32; it outshot Austria 23-5 and had two-thirds of the possession, per SofaScore. Goalkeeper Unai Simón never had to make a save. Granted, it was not the hardest match Spain could have played in the Round of 32, but just ask Germany whether that matters.
"If I were Spain's opponent, I would ask myself, what can they improve? There's really not much left to improve," Rangnick said. "They are a perfect clockwork."
De La Fuente, already perhaps looking ahead to the Round of 16 where either Portugal or Croatia awaits, refused to agree. The manager who took Spain to the European title two years ago insisted there's still a higher level from his side.
"Perhaps you saw what you think is the best of us, but that's in our spirit: You keep doing things better," he said. "To keep on enhancing, keep on improving. You need to remember, this team has not reached its cap. … We are insatiable."
Insatiable was an apt description for his team's character Thursday.
Even before Spain opened the scoring, Mikel Oyarzabal passing Marc Cucurella 's cross into the net after 36 minutes, they felt inevitable. Afterward, it felt over. Rangnick's side seemed to be without any coherent plan to hang on to the ball, let alone ask serious questions of Spain's defense. The Spanish counterpress alone seemed to engulf them.
Spain's five consecutive World Cup matches without conceding tied a record, while Simón's 519 consecutive minutes without conceding set one.
Team Spain celebrates after Mikel Oyarzabal's goal during their Round of 32 win over Austria at SoFi Stadium. Anadolu via Getty Images
Rodri and Pedri , whose usage in midfield has been questioned endlessly by the Spanish press, were near perfection. The same goes for Cucurella and Pedro Porro , the latter's late arrival in the box resulting in a goal with Austria's defense consumed with Baena .
"I saw him live for the first time during the match and it was exceptional," Rangnick said of Rodri, one of two Ballon d'Or winners at this tournament who have ceded the spotlight on their own team, along with France's Ousmane Dembélé . "It was amazing to see a performance [like that] from a player."
Oyarzabal, who added a second goal — on a second assist from Cucurella, this one knifing through Austria's defense oh so easily — was clinical in front of net. On either side of him, Alex Baena and Lamine Yamal moved through defenders like water, and this in a game where Yamal was relatively quiet.
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Yamal, the boy wonder, was asked if Spain can win three more games, the amount required to reach the final just over two weeks from now.
"I think we still have to keep improving — in our play, our intensity and everything else," he said. "But we know the quality we have. We aren't afraid of any team.
"We're Spain and we have to prove that on the field. We believe in ourselves."
