Friday | 3 July 2026 | Reg No- 06
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Bangla | Friday | 3 July 2026 | Epaper
BREAKING: Spain sweep aside Austria      Portugal secures last 16 spot      9 monks killed after pickup truck driven by 11-year-old hits pilgrimage group in Thailand      24,784 absent on first day of HSC exams       Over 22.3m children receive vitamin A capsules      Ali Khamenei: Key moments from his life      Govt to open one-stop service centres for persons with disabilities in 10 districts, upazilas      

Spain sweep aside Austria

Published : Friday, 3 July, 2026 at 9:01 AM  Count : 10
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Spain advanced to the World Cup round of 16 with a dominant 3-0 victory over Austria on Thursday powered by a double from Mikel Oyarzabal and another outstanding defensive effort.

Spain, who arrived at the tournament among the favourites and have yet to concede a goal, will next face Portugal or Croatia for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Spaniards started brightly, with Lamine Yamal repeatedly troubling Austria's defence as La Roja pressed for an early breakthrough on a sunny day in Southern California.

Spain thought they had gone ahead on a short-range shot by Marc Cucurella, but the effort was ruled out for a foul on goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

The pressure finally paid off when Marc Cucurella whipped a precise cross into the area and Oyarzabal steered it into the bottom corner, igniting the Spain-heavy crowd.

Schlager kept Austria in the match before halftime, producing back-to-back saves from a free kick and the ensuing scramble to ensure his side went into the interval trailing by only one.

Austria's best opportunity of the second half came when a lovely cross into the box was headed by Sasa Kalajdzic, but the ball landed harmlessly on top of the goal.

Austria, who squeaked into the knockout round with a last-gasp goal to draw with Algeria, struggled to create clear chances against a Spain side that remained composed in possession and disciplined at the back to continue their shutout streak at the tournament.

Pedro Porro added Spain's second in the 66th minute with a header into the middle of the net in front of a sold-out crowd that included Spanish actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Oyarzabal struck again in the 89th minute for his fourth goal of the tournament following a defensive lapse by a visibly frustrated Austrian side.

Spain, World Cup winners in 2010, made an uncertain start to the tournament with a goalless draw against Cape Verde that raised questions about their form.

But they were far more assured against Austria and will take encouragement from the performance of 18-year-old Lamine, who looked to have shaken off the hamstring injury that hampered him earlier in the tournament.






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