Spain 3-0 Austria: Will De la Fuente's defensive fortress hold up in the last 16?

Well, nobody is talking about Spain's World Cup 2026 false start against Cape Verde anymore.

Luis de la Fuente's men looked laboured in their tournament opener against the debuting Blue Sharks, but they have stayed unbeaten since, scoring eight times and notably conceding none.

Lamine Yamal's return to the fold was tipped to give La Roja much-needed final-third bite and unpredictability, but the Barcelona man has yet to set the world alight in North America, if goals and assists are your only consideration.

Instead, Mikel Oyarzabal has been decisive with a pair of braces against Saudi Arabia in the group stage and in Thursday's 3-0 round-of-32 success over Austria.

By securing the win, De La Fuente's men became the first Spain iteration to win a knockout game at the Mundial since an Andres Iniesta-inspired strike in Johannesburg, with the then-defending champions falling in the group stage in 2014, losing to Russia on penalties four years later and exiting to Morocco in Qatar.

Spain have won a World Cup knockout round game for the first time since they won the tournament in 2010.

❌ vs. Russia (2018)
❌ vs. Morocco (2022)
✅ vs. Austria (2026)

Can they go all the way again? pic.twitter.com/yfkC4ZMbAT
— Squawka (@Squawka) July 2, 2026

This time, the current European champions were in no mood for any slip-ups and dispatched Ralf Rangnick's men with relative ease.

While many laud the attacking threat of La Roja, with the electric Yamal's directness a standout quality, this team's rearguard is one to be feared.

Here, Sports Mole examines the statistics behind Spain's impressive defensive strength as they head into the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup.

Spain's defensive numbers at World Cup 2026

Although Austria were not entirely setting the world alight in the group stage, having claimed four points from nine, Rangnick's side scored six goals in three matches, with three each against Jordan and Algeria.

They attempted 21 shots in total across those games, but were limited to just five on Thursday, with two before the break and three after.

Of those attempts, only one fell into the big-chance category, effectively continuing Spain's stinginess since the competition began.

Against the Blue Sharks, De la Fuente's men allowed six shots on their goal, with one forcing Unai Simon into a save; this number fell to three in their 4-0 rout of Saudi Arabia and five in the narrow 1-0 success over Uruguay, with Simon making one save each.

Considering Expected Goals Against (xGA), Cape Verde, Saudi and Uruguay had 0.20, 0.14 and 0.20.

Austria, for their part, could only manage five shots, none on target, as they accumulated xG of 0.32.

0 - ?? Spain didn't allow a shot on target versus Austria; the first time a team haven’t allowed one in a FIFA World Cup knockout stage match since Germany in the 2014 final (0 v Argentina).

Chasing. pic.twitter.com/fRwijOMitc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 2, 2026

Simon has greatly benefitted from his team's compactness without the ball, which has seen Spain give little away to the opposition, thereby enabling the Athletic Club goalkeeper to surpass Iker Casillas's 476-minute La Roja record for not conceding in a World Cup and to break Walter Zenga's 517.

1 - Con #España ??, Unai Simón (519 minutos) se ha convertido en el portero con el mayor récord de imbatibilidad en la historia del #Mundial.

Ha superado los 517 de Walter Zenga.

Histórico. https://t.co/bq6usGgiDX
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 2, 2026

Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles and championships.

That is especially true for this Spain iteration, who hope that their defensive structure holds out against the competition's better sides.

How this current Spain side compare with the 2010 World Cup winners

While this is admittedly an expanded tournament, there are similarities in defensive stinginess shown by both teams.

The 2010 side that lifted the title also had a slow start, losing 1-0 to Switzerland in Group H and keeping one clean sheet: their 2-0 win over Honduras.

However, Vicente del Bosque's men did not let in any goals for the remainder of the competition, defeating Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and the Netherlands all 1-0.

The current group still have a long way to go to even dream up such scenarios, but they are undeniably strong in both boxes, giving them a strong chance of success in North America.

This side have superior attacking qualities and play significantly differently to the more measured 2010 champions.

Yet the defensive foundations stand De la Fuente's men in good stead ahead of sterner tests in the forthcoming rounds.