Spain is through to the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here’s who La Roja will face next, when the match is scheduled and what lies ahead in the knockout bracket.
After advancing past Austria by a dominant 3-0 score in the round of 32, Spain now awaits the winner of Portugal vs. Croatia with a quarterfinal berth on the line. Portugal and Croatia meet Thursday in Toronto to decide who advances to face Spain on Monday, July 6, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Belgium or the United States looms in the quarterfinals for whoever gets past Spain’s round of 16 test, keeping the bracket loaded all the way to the July 19 final.
Spain closed out group play atop Group H with seven points, a record built on a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, a scoreless draw against Cape Verde and a tight 1-0 victory over Uruguay. Zero goals allowed across three group matches set the tone for a defense that has carried Spain through two rounds without conceding.
Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal drove the win over Austria on Thursday at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, according to Sports Illustrated. Spain’s attack has been quieter than usual by the standards of a team known for controlling matches through possession, but the defensive record has kept those concerns in the background. Spain now sits with the tournament’s third-best odds to win the title, tied with England and trailing only France and Argentina, according to Fox Sports’ projected path analysis.
If Portugal Awaits Spain in the Round of 16
Portugal finished second in Group K with five points, scoring six goals against a single goal allowed across draws with DR Congo and Colombia sandwiched around a 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan. Cristiano Ronaldo’s team enters Thursday’s match as the clear favorite over the Croatians. An Opta supercomputer simulation gives Portugal a 54.5 percent win probability in regulation, more than double Croatia’s 20.4 percent.
Portugal has lost just once in its last 10 meetings with Croatia across all international competitions and remains unbeaten in six straight, a stretch that includes five wins.
A Ronaldo-led Portugal would bring a different kind of danger to Arlington than anything Spain has faced so far. Toronto has turned into a spectacle in the days leading up to kickoff, with fans packing hotels and public spaces for a look at the 41-year-old in what could be his final World Cup appearance. Spain would still enter that matchup favored, given its edge in depth and current form, but not without a significant risk of suffering an upset against its Iberian rival.
If Croatia Awaits Spain in the Round of 16
Croatia finished second in Group L with six points from two wins and a loss, including a lopsided 4-2 defeat to England on June 17 in Dallas. The team recovered with a 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto and a 2-1 win over Ghana in Philadelphia to punch its ticket into the knockout rounds.
Luka ModriÄ anchors a Croatia side making another deep tournament run after reaching the final in 2018. The midfield control that has defined that run remains intact, even after the England loss exposed some vulnerabilities against fast, direct attacks.
A Spain-Croatia matchup would pit La Roja’s possession-based approach against a battle-tested, physical opponent built to disrupt rhythm rather than match it. Spain would again be favored, but Croatia’s tournament pedigree means the result is far from guaranteed.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Spain’s Next Game: Who Do La Roja Play Next in World Cup Schedule? appeared first on HEAVY.