After winning Group H, Spain gets their knockout stage underway vs. Austria on Thursday, July 2, with kickoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
Despite the Spanish dealing with limited minutes for superstar Lamine Yamal, including Matchday 1’s shocking 0-0 draw vs. Cape Verde, La Roja finished with a demanding seven points and a +5 goal differential in Group H.
Spain’s hopes of winning their second World Cup remain high as one of the favorites to win the tournament, featuring a 7.69x payout to win World Cup 2026 (third-shortest) on PrizePicks Team Picks. If they continue to advance, who could Spain face in their path to the World Cup Final?
Let’s look at who Spain could play in each round of the 2026 World Cup, all the way to the World Cup Final, including projections for Spain to qualify to each round on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 35 states!
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Note: Within this article, we’ll use the WorldCup2026Predictions.app to show the most likely opponents in each round.
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Who Will Spain Play in the Round of 32?
- Opponent: Austria
- Date, Kickoff Time: Thursday, July 2, 3:00 p.m. ET
- Location: SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Stadium), Inglewood, California
- To Advance Payouts: Spain 1.11x | Austria 5.88x
- Spread: Spain -1.5 (1.92x)
- Total: 2.5 (Over - 1.69x | Under - 2.08x)
- Payouts via PrizePicks Team Picks — subject to change
Beginning with Thursday’s Round of 32 match, Spain is a clear favorite with a 1.11x payout to advance against Austria. In our World Cup Power Rankings entering the knockout stage, La Roja ranked third, while Austria was 23rd.
Austria finished second in Group J, and they’ve already faced one of the tournament’s best teams in Argentina, losing the match 2-0 in the group stage. In that contest, they kept close in possession, losing the battle 54-46. However, Argentina tallied 12 shots and 5 shots on target compared to Austria’s 6 shots and 1 shot on target.
According to FotMob, Austria has conceded 6 goals and 4.5 expected goals (tied for 26th). They’re about average with 3.7 expected goals on the attack (28th) as well.
Austria struggled to get looks at the goal vs. Argentina, who has surrendered only 1.6 xG (second-fewest). Spain has been on another level with 0.5 xG conceded (fewest), paired with three consecutive clean sheets in World Cup 2026.
La Roja’s strong defense gives it a good chance to advance against a team totaling only 2.7 shots on target per match (tied for 34th) at the World Cup.
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World Cup Round of 16: Who Will Spain Play in the Next Game?
- Potential Opponents: Portugal (61%), Croatia (39%)
- Date, Kickoff Time: Monday, July 6, 3:00 p.m. ET
- Location: AT&T Stadium (Dallas Stadium), Arlington, Texas
- Spain to Qualify for World Cup Round of 16: Yes 1.09x | No 5.88x
If Spain takes care of business as many expect, a difficult challenge will be ahead in the Round of 16. Portugal vs. Croatia takes place on Thursday, July 2, at 7:00 p.m. ET, with the victor lining up with Spain in the World Cup bracket.
FIFA rankings have Portugal eighth and Croatia 13th. PrizePicks Team Picks currently tab Portugal as the favorite with a 1.36x payout to advance.
In ST Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup, Portugal features a superb midfield with AM Bruno Fernandes and MF Vitinha, paired with a defense anchored by the best left back in the world, Nuno Mendes.
If Portugal advances, Spain RW Lamine Yamal would likely get plenty of matchups against Mendes, providing viewers with one of the best one-on-one battles of the entire World Cup.
Further, Spain has a loaded midfield thanks to Pedri and Rodri, but so does Portugal. This is another team that likes to control possession, proven by a 62.2% average possession in the World Cup (seventh), via Opta Analyst. La Roja currently leads the tournament with a 69.4% average possession, but Portugal has the pieces to match up with some of Spain’s strengths.
Croatia would also be a tough Round of 16 challenge for Spain. This squad has experience led by 40-year-old MF Luka Modric. Croatia was the runner-up in the 2018 World Cup, followed by third place in the 2022 World Cup.
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Spain’s World Cup Quarterfinals Opponent: Belgium Most Likely
- Potential Opponents: Belgium (58%), United States (42%)
- Date, Kickoff Time: Friday, July 10, 3:00 p.m. ET
- Location: SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Stadium), Inglewood, California
- Spain to Qualify for World Cup Quarterfinals: Yes 1.61x | No 2.22x
Frankly, a more favorable matchup could await Spain in the quarterfinals compared to the Round of 16. If the Spanish can get to this stage, Belgium or the United States will be next.
Belgium was trailing 2-0 vs. Senegal before scoring goals at the 86th and 89th minutes to knot their Round of 32 fixture, followed by a game-winning converted penalty shot in extra time.
They have simply looked shaky at best. Keep in mind, Belgium posted 1-1 and 0-0 draws against Egypt and Iran to begin group play.
The USA is living the dream following their first World Cup knockout stage win since 2002. USMNT has been dominant at times, featuring a 4-1 win over Paraguay on Matchday 1, who upset Germany in the Round of 32, paired with a 2-0 dub over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32.
However, the United States has been fortunate to not face talented attacks thus far. While backups were heavily featured, Türkiye had the most class the USA has seen so far, and they shredded USMNT for 3 goals in the Red, White, and Blue’s only loss at World Cup 2026.
Belgium would likely be the greater challenge for Spain with 8.5 xG through four matches (fifth), but they’ve also conceded 5.5 xG (36th).
Spain would likely be tabbed as a major favorite against either opponent.
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Who Could Spain Play in the World Cup Semifinals?
- Potential Opponents: France (71%), Morocco (20%), Canada (6%)
- Date, Kickoff Time: Tuesday, July 14, 3:00 p.m. ET
- Location: AT&T Stadium (Dallas Stadium), Arlington, Texas
- Spain to Qualify for World Cup Semifinals: Yes 2.08x | No 1.69x
This is where we may potentially witness the best match of the entire tournament. Spain and France could be on a crash course to meet in the World Cup semifinal.
La Roja has the third-shortest payout to reach the semifinals (2.04x), while France has the shortest payout to qualify for the semifinals (1.26x), via PrizePicks Team Picks. If Spain could get through this utterly loaded opponent, they'd feel pretty darn good about winning the tournament.
No one can match France’s front line, and that’s just a fact. ST Kylian Mbappé, RW Ousmane Dembélé, AM Michael Olise, and Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué sharing time at left winger form an attack that’s nearly impossible to defend. Les Bleues is beginning to create space as the favorite to win the World Cup (2.63x payout), ahead of Argentina’s 4.54x and Spain’s 7.69x.
Mbappé has 6 goals through four games, Dembélé logged a hat trick on Matchday 3 in the group stage, and Olise already has 5 assists — putting him 1 short of Pelé’s record 6 assists for one World Cup in 1970. Fortunately, Spain has yet to allow 1 goal through three matches.
France’s defense has been circled as a potential flaw if they are to fall short of a World Cup. La Roja has one of the world’s best in Lamine Yamal, and the midfield dominates possession — which could keep the ball away from this absurd front line.
Les Bleues would be an extremely tall task, but Spain carries a few angles to victory.
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World Cup Final: Will Spain Play Argentina?
- Potential Opponents: Argentina (39%), Brazil (21%), England (14%)
- Date, Kickoff Time: Sunday, July 19, 3:00 p.m. ET
- Location: MetLife Stadium (New York New Jersey Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Spain to Qualify for World Cup Final: Yes 3.84x | No 1.23x
- Spain to Win World Cup: Yes 7.69x | No 1.07x
The World Cup becomes a gauntlet once you advance this far, and the defending champions in Argentina could be Spain’s final test.
Somehow, Argentina’s been perhaps even more impressive than their run to a World Cup win in 2022, conceding 1.6 xG (second) while AM Lionel Messi has 6 goals in only three games.
La Albiceleste has a solid 58.2% average possession through three matches (13th), but it’s a significant drop from Spain’s 69.4%. Argentina’s 90.5% pass success rate (fourth) could help remedy that while fending off La Roja’s 53 pressed sequences thus far (tied for fourth).
Furthermore, Argentina has allowed only 0.67 shots on target per match (the fewest) and 50.0% of shots in the box (fourth-fewest). Meanwhile, Spain has yielded 1.0 shots on target per match (second-fewest) and 28.57% of shots in the box (the fewest).
Following a potential matchup with France, Spain could then be involved in a high-level defensive matchup against the defending champions, Argentina. Unless Brazil spoils the party, as they carry the second-highest probability to reach the final (21%).
The Brazilian brand of football we all know and love has looked the part with an exciting attack, posting 9.4 xG (first) — which even surpasses France’s 9.2. They’ve accomplished this with RW Raphinha battling an injury, in large part thanks to LW Vinícius Júnior playing like one of the world’s best with 4 goals.
Either way, a difficult matchup with all the marbles on the line would surely await Spain in a World Cup Final.
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Spain has all the tools to win the World Cup 2026, from Lamine Yamal on the attack to a dominant midfield with Pedri and Rodri and a reliable defense anchored by LB Marc Cucurella and CB Pau Cubarsí. Will La Roja navigate a difficult bracket to win their second World Cup?
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