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Spain have won a free kick high in their attacking half for a foul on Baena by Stefan Posch, with four minutes added on to this half.
Baena takes it and aims straight for goal. It comes fantastically close, curving above the defensive line before narrowing in on the goal. But instead it hits the woodwork before flying in the air. Yamal boots the rebound with force, making a loud thud noise when Schlager gets in front of it, saving the ball with his abdomen to deny Spain a second goal. What a chance!
That’s it for the first half.
Spain 1-0 Austria, half-time
Austria are barely holding on to this 0-0 scoreline. Yamal has a shot on target in the 32nd minute, saved by Schlager before another shot from Mikel Oyarzabal the minute after.
Austria’s David Alaba will go down on the stats as firing a shot off target in the 35th minute, but it’s from outside the box and is too high, a far cry from a genuine opportunity for them.
Then in the 36th minute, Cucurella has the ball up the left side of the pitch. Alex Baena makes a decoy run to create space for Cucurella to cross the ball to Oyarzabal who calmly slots it into the centre of the goal with his left foot for Spain’s first goal. They make it look so easy! Will they get another before half-time?
Spain 1-0 Austria, 39 minutes
Spain have scored from a corner! Yamal delivers it and Marc Cucurella smashes the ball in with his left foot after it drops from a huddle of players.
But before they can celebrate for long the referee is checking it. It’s been disallowed for a foul by Pau Cubarsi on Austria’s keeper, Schlager.
That was close. The real thing can’t be far away.
Spain 0-0 Austria, 30 minutes
There are boos for the first hydration break in LA as the scoreline remains nil-all.
Spain are dominating possession at 57 per cent and have won more than double the number of duels than Austria. If it continues this way, Spain will open up the scoring soon.
Yamal is given some one-on-one coaching in the break as the pressure on this 18-year-old – who says he is only at 80 per cent after coming back from injury – builds.
Spain 0-0 Austria, 26 minutes
Lamine Yamal is getting the crowd fired up in Los Angeles Stadium, and not just because he’s been gesturing to them to cheer louder.
He’s certainly been the most threatening Spaniard on the pitch for Austria so far, getting a shot on target in the first minute, forcing a diving save from Alexander Schlager.
Spain 0-0 Austria, 10 minutes
Inglewood: Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said football fans around the world love watching Lamine Yamal play, but stopping the Spain winger from showcasing his talent will be one of his side’s top priorities in the World Cup round of 32 this morning.
Spain have eased the 18-year-old back into action after he tore a hamstring in April, limiting him to 141 minutes over the three group games, during which he scored once.
“Lamine Yamal is an excellent player, and he will be for the next 12, 13 or 14 years, maybe even longer,” Rangnick told reporters on Wednesday.
“If he stays healthy and keeps a straight head on his shoulders, he can play a lot of matches.
Today’s first match is now under way in Los Angeles Stadium. Here’s the team news:
Spain made two changes to face Austria, with Pedro Porro and Dani Olmo coming into Luis de la Fuente’s starting side.
Porro starts at right back, with Marcos Llorente dropping to the bench. Olmo returns in attacking midfield as Mikel Merino is left out of the starting lineup.
Lamine Yamal starts in attack with Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal, with Nico Williams still recovering from a leg injury.
A LOT happened yesterday so in case you missed it, here’s everything you need to know:
England spent the majority of their round of 32 match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a tournament exit looking likely. The game in Atlanta kicked off with an early Congo goal from Brian Cipenga which England were unable to respond to… until the 75th minute when Captain Harry Kane bagged an equaliser and then won them the game with a second goal in the 86th.
Similarly in Seattle, Senegal led against Belgium until the 86th minute, with goals from Habib Diarra in the 24th minute and Ismaila Sarr in the 51st, providing them with a comfortable two-goal lead. But with four minutes of regular time remaining, Belgium found goals from Romelu Lukaku in the 86th and Youri Tielemans in the 89th to equalise. The game went to extra time where all looked even and likely to end in a penalty shootout until a very controversial VAR call awarded Belgium with a penalty kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time to the second half of extra time – that’s a mouthful. Tielemans stepped up and scored for Belgium, sending them through to the round of 16 with heartbreak for the Senegalese who spent an hour of regulation time thinking the privilege would be theirs.
Good morning to anyone up early to watch Spain v Austria at 5am (AEST)! We’re back for another full day of World Cup coverage starting early this morning before we watch Portugal v Croatia at 9am and Switzerland v Algeria at 1pm.
We’re also less than 24 hours away from the Socceroos’ next match against Egypt at 5am tomorrow.
Here’s some stories to read to catch you up to speed:
