The group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has concluded, and the matchups for the Round of 32 have been revealed and are now underway.
Spain, the winners of Group H, will face Austria, the runners-up in Group J, in the Round of 32 in Los Angeles.
Spain are the favorites to win this match, but we have already seen some major upsets in the Round of 32, with Paraguay knocking off Germany and Morocco defeating the Netherlands on penalties.
Although Spain are the favorites in this contest, they haven’t exactly played to the elite standards they showed at UEFA Euro 2024. They finished the group stage with seven points but opened their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in what was one of the biggest surprise results of the tournament.
Spain responded strongly with a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia before defeating Uruguay 1-0. The competition and margin for error will only get tougher in the knockout stage, so they will want to be at their best against Austria if they hope to make a deep run.
Austria finished second in Group J, where they defeated Jordan 3-1 and drew 3-3 with Algeria in a thrilling match that sent both teams through to the knockout stage.
Their only loss came against the reigning champions, Argentina, in what was still a competitive performance they can take plenty of positives from. Austria will need veterans Marko Arnautović, David Alaba and Marcel Sabitzer to step up against an experienced Spanish side.
The winner of this contest will face the winner of Croatia vs. Portugal in the Round of 16.
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