They made history before kick-off. Then they go out and defend every statement.Lamine Yamal was named man of the match as Spain swept Austria 3-0 in the round of 32 at SoFi Arena in Inglewood on Friday to advance to the last 16 in a strong fashion. But more than the score, the night will also be remembered for a record that has never been achieved by a Spanish teenager, dating back to 1958.Yamal and Barcelona teammate Paulo Cubasi became the first pair of teenage players to start in a World Cup knockout round since Pele and Jose Altafini in 1958 for Brazil in the quarter-finals against Wales. Sixty-eight years separate these two moments. The same teenage audacity. Completely different times.Yamal was everywhere that night. The 18-year-old Barcelona winger, back from the hamstring injury that limited him in the group stages, looked sharp, direct and confident against an Austrian backline that simply couldn’t cope with his movement and speed. He was at the center of many of Spain’s best moments, particularly in the first half, which electrified the Spanish-supporting crowd of more than 70,000. The only thing missing from a near-perfect individual performance was a goal, and he came agonizingly close with a quick shot in the final minutes that was blocked by David Alaba on the line.When the goal came, it belonged to Mikel Oyarzabal. The Real Sociedad striker scored for the first time in the 34th minute thanks to brilliant work from Pedri and Marc Cucurella, setting up Spain’s dominant victory after another cross from Cucurella and another clinical finish from the Austrian goalkeeper. His tally of goals at this World Cup currently stands at four in the last 16 games he has started for Spain.At the other end, Kubasi was equally dominant. Kubasi is part of a Spanish defense that has yet to concede a goal at this year’s World Cup, with Unai Simon keeping a fourth consecutive clean sheet.Thursday’s result was Spain’s first knockout victory at the World Cup since defeating the Netherlands in the 2010 final. After exiting the group stage in 2014 and first-round knockout defeats in 2018 and 2022, Europe’s defending champions have finally shown their true potential.In 1958, Pele and Altafini were teenagers who helped Brazil conquer the world. Yamal and Kubas are just getting started in 2026, and Spain now looks ready to follow them all the way to the finals.
