Spain faces Austria in World Cup last 32 as Canada becomes first to reach round of 16

Spain’s route to the knockout stage

Spain booked their place as Group H winners with a tense 1–0 victory over Uruguay, Álex Baena scoring the decisive goal. The win came at a cost, however, as Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino both left the field injured. Luis de la Fuente’s side now enters the first-ever World Cup round of 32, the new knockout round introduced for the expanded 48-team tournament.

Austria secured the runner-up spot in Group J behind Argentina, snatching qualification dramatically when Sasa Kalajdzic scored in the 96th minute to earn a 3–3 draw with Algeria. The Austrians had earlier beaten Jordan 3–1 and lost 2–0 to Argentina. Ralf Rangnick’s team is appearing in a World Cup knockout match for the first time since 1982, the year of their previous group-stage exit.

The match details

Spain’s round of 32 clash with Austria is scheduled for Thursday 2 July at 21:00 local time in Los Angeles (21:00 CEST). RTVE will broadcast the match free to air in Spain via La 1 and RTVE Play, with full coverage also available on DAZN.

Spain’s potential path to the final

Should Spain beat Austria, they would face the winner of Portugal vs Croatia in the round of 16 on Monday 6 July in Dallas. A quarter-final on 10 July in Los Angeles would pit them against the survivor of the USA–Bosnia and Belgium–Senegal ties. The semi-final, set for 14 July in Dallas, could feature teams from the opposite half of the draw such as the Netherlands, France, Germany or Morocco. The final takes place on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Round of 32 underway

Canada became the first team to advance to the last 16 with a 1–0 win over South Africa on 28 June. The remaining fifteen ties run from 29 June to 4 July, featuring match-ups such as Brazil vs Japan, Germany vs Paraguay, Netherlands vs Morocco, and England vs DR Congo. All group winners, runners-up and the eight best third-placed teams are still in contention; notable eliminations include Uruguay, South Korea, and Scotland.

How to watch

In Spain, RTVE will carry a free-to-air match each day, with DAZN providing full coverage of every fixture. The round of 32 concludes on 4 July, after which the bracket consolidates into a traditional 16-team knockout until the final on 19 July.