Marc Cucurella has just been named in the Euro 2024 team of the tournament after lifting the trophy with Spain.
He hadn’t played a single competitive game for his country before the tournament, and not only that, he was competing with Alex Grimaldo, one of the most in form players of the season for minutes.
But from the very start of the competition, Luis De La Fuente favoured Cucurella, and the Chelsea man paid him back many times over with great performances. La Roja won all 7 of their games at the tournament, the first national team to do so in a Euros or World Cup since Brazil in 2002.
Full back praised to the heavens
Writer Guillem Balague covered the competition for the BBC, and he waxed lyrical about the Catalan’s performances:
“They all knew what he could give but [Alex] Grimaldo [of Bayer Leverkusen] was so good this season that Cucurella thought he was coming in without a chance of starting. What he offered was not just the ability to go forward but the defending.
He was so proactive with the defending. He would not track back every time he needed to go with somebody, he just went close to him, didn’t let him turn. It doesn’t matter who it was he was strong with him. He seemed to jump higher.”
Cucurella’s tournament wasn’t flawless, but it was a very strong showing overall, capped off when he picked up the assist for the winner in the final. Unlike in the Premier League, where the hectic tempo can seem to expose him, his all action style really shone in the more stodgy and defensive international game.
His team came up against Croatia, Italy, Germany, France and England and beat them all. Let’s hope he carries this form into the club season.
Well done Marc!
