Spain — Austria: the way to the 2026 World Cup, what time to watch, history of meetings

The match between Spain and Austria will take place on July 2 as part of the 1/16 finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Spaniards confidently won their group without conceding a single goal, and the Austrians advanced to the playoffs after a draw with Algeria in the final round. The meeting will take place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (USA) and will start at 22:00 Moscow time.

The Way of Spain

Luis de la Fuente's team approached the World Cup as the reigning European champion and fully met expectations in the group stage. The Spaniards took the first place in Group H, drawing with Cape Verde (0-0), defeating Saudi Arabia (4-0) and beating Uruguay (1-0). The main feature of the team was a reliable defensive game — Spain finished the group without conceding a single goal. Lamin Yamal, Pedri, Mikel Oyarzabal, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo play a key role in the attack, and ball control remains the team's main weapon.

The Austrian Way

The Austrian national team got out of Group J after difficult matches. The team started the championship with a 3-1 victory over Jordan, then lost to Argentina (0-2), and in the final round they drew with Algeria (3-3), scoring the decisive goal in the last minutes and securing a place in the playoffs. David Alaba, Marcel Zabitzer, Marko Arnautovic, Konrad Laimer and Patrick Wimmer remain the leaders of the team. The Austrians rely on intense pressure, a quick transition from defense to attack and a high amount of work without the ball.

Departure time: the World Cup play-off stage has begun

Argentina will play with a lucky newcomer, and Cristiano Ronaldo will face a former teammate.

Previous meetings

The history of the confrontation between Spain and Austria has 16 matches. The advantage remains with the Spaniards, who won nine times, while the Austrians won four times, and three more meetings ended in a draw. The last time the teams met in a friendly match was in 2009, when Spain won with a score of 5:1. Before that, the rivals had crossed paths in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup: a 1-1 draw was recorded in Vienna, and in the return game, the Spaniards defeated Austria 4-0. At the same time, the only meeting of the teams at the World Championships took place in 1978 and ended with a 2-1 victory for Austria.