Twenty magical minutes for Spain to break the curse and present their World Cup bid

Source Summary

The last time the Spanish national team had overcome a World Cup knockout stage had been in 2010, the year they were proclaimed champions in South Africa. Since then, 'la roja' had either fallen in the group stage or in the first knockout match. Sixteen years later, the team broke the curse by defeating Austria (3-0) to reach the round of 16, where they will face the winner of the match between Portugal and Croatia, which was played this morning. Oyarzabal at the half-hour mark and Pedro Porro and – once again – Oyarzabal in the second half tipped the balance in favor of a team that played from less to more but ended up thrashing and dispelling the doubts they had shown at the start of the competition.