De la Fuente warns of Austria: "They are playing increasingly intensely"

Analysis of the opponent

Of the opponent, the coach said: "They have developed it further. They are playing increasingly intensely." The Austrians rely on high pressing and had further stepped up their style of play over the course of the tournament. "The Austrian school is shaped by discipline, power, physical strength and aerial dominance," De la Fuente explained. If the ÖFB team were to sit very deep and compact, as they had sometimes already done during the tournament, his team would have to circulate the ball with precision.

At the same time, the Spanish team manager raised the expectation level for his own squad. "The European champions want to stay true to their own possession-based style," reported journalists from the Selección's circle. "Taking a penalty is nothing accidental, we have specialists for that," said De la Fuente with an eye on a possible penalty shootout – a scenario the team had also prepared for. "They had prepared for all possible scenarios," De la Fuente assured – including a possible penalty shootout.

Statistic – unbeaten Spaniards

Spain travels to Inglewood carrying an impressive statistic. "33 matches in a row the Spaniards have not lost in regular time, 34 in competitive matches." The only competitive defeat in that period was the penalty shootout against Portugal in last year's Nations League final. In goal stands Unai Simón, unbeaten for 429 World Cup minutes, whose last goal conceded came in November 2022 in Japan's 2-1 group-stage win.

For all their strength, however, there is still a knock-out drought weighing on them, which De la Fuente did not conceal. "The Spaniards have not won a knock-out match at a World Championship since the 2010 final." In 2014, their tournament already ended in the group stage; "in 2018 and 2022, respectively, in the round of 16 on penalties against Russia and Morocco." A particular burden for a team that has "scored five goals … in their three World Cup matches so far," of which "four of them, however, were scored alone in the 4-0 against Saudi Arabia."

Lamine Yamal in focus

The spotlight also fell on the opposing defense's star. "Lamine can play as long as we want him to. We have been patient with everyone's rehab time," said De la Fuente about Lamine Yamal. The 18-year-old, who plays for FC Barcelona and "had been troubled by a thigh injury before the start of the tournament," is available to the coach for the match against Austria. "But so are we, and there are still a few others in that category," said De la Fuente about the co-favorites – "France has played a good World Cup so far and is one of the top favorites."

On the Austrian side, meanwhile, there is a clear underdog mood. "In that match, we can really only win," said Ralf Rangnick, calling the game the "next final." The German team manager also stressed: "That we have room for improvement in the defensive behavior of the whole team is logical – we definitely need to step it up." Against the Spanish side, which "is not as strong in the tackle" as Argentina, his team had to "definitely step it up."

Rangnick's match plan from Santa Barbara

Rangnick has been working in Santa Barbara for days on his match plan for the duel with the world number two. Of Lamine Yamal, the 68-year-old said: "He is one of the upcoming top stars; actually, he already is one." At left-back, Konrad Laimer, an all-rounder at FC Bayern Munich, could be assigned to man-mark the youngster. In central midfield, Florian Grillitsch is an option, which, according to the report, "could mean Xaver Schlager dropping to the bench."

In attack, Rangnick is planning "with Michael Gregoritsch as a starter instead of Marko Arnautovic," similar to the 0-2 against Argentina. Austria had started the tournament with a hard-fought 3-1 against World Cup newcomers Jordanien, then lost 0-2 to Argentina, and in the third match "drew 3-3 against Algeria in the final seconds (to prevent) a group-stage exit." After three group games, six goals scored and six conceded are on the tally.

Travel and venues

The teams' journeys differed. "Spain traveled two days before the round of 16 on a four-and-a-half-hour flight from their team camp in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Los Angeles." Austria, for its part, "arrived on Wednesday by bus from nearby Santa Barbara," which was also the reporting location as "Santa Barbara."

The round of 16 will kick off on Thursday, "on July 6, at 9:00 PM CEST." The winner of the match will meet the winner of Portugal against Croatia in the quarterfinals, "which takes place afterward at 1:00 AM CEST on Friday in Toronto." A possible quarterfinal would take the winners "back to Los Angeles." The Spaniards' stated goal is "to reach the final on July 19 outside the gates of New York."

Outlook on the quarterfinal

That the favorite's role does not decide everything is shown by a look at the record: Austria plays in Inglewood against Spain "as a clear underdog," as the analysis highlighted. The Spaniards, for their part, recently "won 2-0 against Argentina, but have to be careful" – the summary assessment of the situation ahead of kickoff in the night to Thursday, the "next final" for Rangnick's team.