Marc Cucurella thought he had given Spain the lead against Austria on Thursday, only to see the goal wiped off the board by video review during the World Cup round of 32 at SoFi Stadium.
The reversal briefly threatened to turn a lopsided possession battle into a frustrating scoreless grind for a Spain squad that entered the knockout round as one of the tournament’s clear favorites, leaving a red-clad Los Angeles-area crowd stuck between celebration and confusion.
Cucurella Goal Ruled Out for Foul on Schlager
The sequence started with a Lamine Yamal corner kick swung in from the right side. Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager came out to challenge for the ball, and Spanish center back Pau Cubarsà got tangled up with him in the process, throwing off the keeper’s timing as he tried to punch clear.
The loose ball dropped to Cucurella just outside the 6-yard box, and he drilled a shot into the roof of the net before wheeling away in celebration with teammates. Referee Glenn Nyberg ruled out the goal almost immediately, and players from both sides waited near midfield as VAR checked the decision.
After a lengthy stoppage, the goal was ruled out for interference with Schlager during the buildup, according to NBC Sports’ match coverage. CubarsÃ’s contact with the goalkeeper, minimal as it appeared in real time, proved enough to void the score under rules governing challenges on goalkeepers competing for crosses inside their own box.
The call drew immediate frustration around SoFi Stadium, where the crowd had just watched Spain seemingly break the deadlock in a match it was expected to control from the opening whistle. Spain rolled through the group stage unbeaten and unscored upon, one of only two nations in the 2026 field to finish the opening round with a clean sheet.
Spain Breaks Through Anyway
Spain didn’t need long to overcome the setback. Cucurella turned from scorer to playmaker in the 36th minute, sliding a pass into the middle for Mikel Oyarzabal, who finished from close range to put Spain in front and settle the nerves that had built up since the disallowed goal.
The strike validated a first half in which Luis de la Fuente’s side dominated possession but struggled early to break down Schlager and an organized Austrian back line built around veteran center backs David Alaba and Kevin Danso. Yamal, still just 18, continued to operate as the primary creative outlet for the Spain attack.
La Roja could easily have gone into halftime up 4-0 rather than 1-0 if not for a trio of spectacular saves by Schlager, including two within the space of seconds in the 46th minute, from a Spain free kick from just beyond the penalty box.
Spain finished atop Group H with seven of nine possible points, a run that included Yamal’s return from a scoreless opener against Cape Verde to find the net against Saudi Arabia. Austria advanced as runner-up behind Argentina out of Group J, with 37-year-old veteran Marko Arnautovic scoring twice during pool play for a squad making its first knockout appearance since 1954.
For a Spain team built to make a deep run in front of American crowds, Thursday’s mix of a wiped-out goal and a proper breakthrough only added to the sense that every result this summer will carry an asterisk until the final whistle blows in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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