Marc Cucurella has had a real renaissance in the last few months, and he’s been great as part of a dominant team Spain team at the Euros.
He wasn’t expected to start, and they weren’t expected to do well, but they’ve cruised to the final and he’s played in every match.
Despite that, when they take on England in the final tomorrow, at least one pundit still sees him as the weak link. Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton explained why he thought that the former Brighton man might be targeted by Gareth Southgate’s team.
“England’s best chance is probably if they can get Saka one-on-one with Marc Cucurella – Spain’s left-back – because he can cause him all sorts of problems,” Sutton said to BBC Sport’s 5 Live
“That’s not because I think Cucurella is a poor player, by the way, more because I don’t see any weaknesses in any other areas of the Spain team.”
A weak point despite good performances
We’ve really enjoyed Cucurella’s improved performances at the Euros, and there’s no denying that he’s played some really good games and had some good moments.
But there’s also no getting away from the fact that he’s had his wobbles too. As happens so often, he’s been caught under the ball at the far post a couple of times, notable against France and Germany who seemed to make a point of attacking him there with aerial balls.
Saka’s threat would be on the ground with the ball at his feet, and given he’s among the world’s best at that and can cause even the top 1 on 1 defenders a problem, it does seem very possible that he gives Cucurella a long day – but only if England can get their wonderkid into the right positions to take him on.
Saka is world class and has the ability to put even speedy defenders on skates and make the look silly. Cucurella is not all that speedy and that’s a liability for him, BUT he has played well against Saka in the past by managing to get tight to him and pin him against the sideline. Should be an interesting matchup since Williams provides a bit less help down the left flank than Yamal on the right.