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Marc Cucurella: Spain’s surprise star at EURO 2024

Marc Cucurella: Spain’s surprise star at EURO 2024

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Marc Cucurella was deemed rather fortunate to have been included in Spain’s 26-man squad for EURO 2024.

By Luke Bissett

The defender has struggled, at times, since a move to Chelsea in 2022, while he had made just one appearance for the national team across the last three years. Yet the full-back has been a revelation for Luis de la Fuente’s side this summer, winning mass plaudits for his impressive displays in the competition.  

Cucurella has undoubtedly been one of the standout performers of EURO 2024 so far – something that few would have predicted just a couple of months ago. There’s little doubt that the defender’s £62million switch from Brighton to Chelsea has been hugely underwhelming. The 25-year-old has been unable to nail down a starting berth in the Blues’ side, while injuries have continuously hampered his progression in West London.  

An ankle knock picked up at the start of the year looked set to curtail his season once more, but a fine run of form to bookend the campaign soon propelled Cucurella back into the Spanish fold. The 25-year-old started each of Chelsea’s last 14 matches of 2023-24, most notably excelling in an inverted full-back role. This saw him recalled to the Spanish national team in March for the first time in three years, with De la Fuente a manager he knew extremely well. The pair had previously worked together with the Spanish under-21s and at the 2020 Olympics, in which Spain claimed a silver medal.  

However, the general feeling was still that Cucurella was somewhat fortuitous to receive a call up this summer. De la Fuente has used several left-backs over the year that he has been at the helm of La Roja, but injuries to both José Gayà and Alejandro Baldé paved the way for Cucurella’s inclusion in the 26-man squad. And it’s a decision that has more than paid off. 

Cucurella has grasped the opportunity to play in his first major international tournament with both hands, receiving rave reviews for his performances in the group stage. The 25-year-old has seemingly got the nod as Spain’s first choice left-back ahead of Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Álex Grimaldo. Cucurella started both of La Roja’s opening two group games, with De la Fuente’s side earning impressive victories over Croatia and Italy to clinch top spot in Group B. The Spaniard was even included in our MD2 Team of the Round after his stellar display against the Azzurri.

The defender has been criticised for his defensive mishaps during his spell in the Premier League, though that’s been far from the case in Germany this summer. Cucurella has been an imposing figure on the left of the Spanish back-four, with the 25-year-old being dribbled past just once across the two games. He has also won 17 of his 22 duels – the most of any player for Spain. Impressively, his 77% duel success rate is the highest of any defender in the competition to have attempted 20+ duels in the group stage.  

He has been an almighty presence within De la Fuente’s side, making the most tackles (six) and  interceptions (four) of any Spanish player in the competition. In fact, one Spanish journalist claimed that it felt like there had been “five Cucurellas” in the 1-0 victory over Italy. The left-back has been superb in 1v1 situations, comfortably marshalling both Lovro Majer and Federico Chiesa. He has won possession 10 times at EURO 2024, with only Fabián Ruiz doing so on more occasions for Spain (21).  

Cucurella has also forged a fantastic partnership with winger Nico Williams down Spain’s left flank. The left-back’s defensive solidity has afforded Williams the freedom to fearlessly drive forward while safe knowing that he has the defender supporting behind him. Cucurella’s marauding runs forward have become an all-too-common sight in this Spanish side, with his surges forward creating space for the deadly Williams to exploit. The 25-year-old often looks to underlap the wide-man by floating into the left half-space and drawing opposition markers out of position, with the duo collaborating to devastating effect in the Italy victory. 

The Chelsea full-back also has a huge involvement in Spain’s build-up. Cucurella has shown that he is extremely comfortable in possession, constantly combining with Williams and Ruiz on the left-hand side. Indeed, he has completed the third most passes of any Spain player in the opposition half across the tournament (53). The defender has been extremely efficient on the ball and boasted a 98% pass completion rate against Italy (completing 52/53 passes).  

Spain have been one of the top performers at EURO 2024, and Cucurella has undoubtedly been a huge factor in their supreme showings. La Roja became just the second side in European Championships history to maintain an 100% group stage record without conceding a goal (after Italy at EURO 2020 – who went on to win the competition). 

After being rested for La Roja’s dead rubber group game against Albania, Cucurella is set to come straight back into the side for their Round of 16 clash with Georgia. Though following his fantastic displays, his inclusion this time out should come as no surprise at all.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Marc Cucurella: Spain’s surprise star at EURO 2024

Marc Cucurella was deemed rather fortunate to have been included in Spain’s 26-man squad for EURO 2024.

By Luke Bissett

The defender has struggled, at times, since a move to Chelsea in 2022, while he had made just one appearance for the national team across the last three years. Yet the full-back has been a revelation for Luis de la Fuente’s side this summer, winning mass plaudits for his impressive displays in the competition.  

Cucurella has undoubtedly been one of the standout performers of EURO 2024 so far – something that few would have predicted just a couple of months ago. There’s little doubt that the defender’s £62million switch from Brighton to Chelsea has been hugely underwhelming. The 25-year-old has been unable to nail down a starting berth in the Blues’ side, while injuries have continuously hampered his progression in West London.  

An ankle knock picked up at the start of the year looked set to curtail his season once more, but a fine run of form to bookend the campaign soon propelled Cucurella back into the Spanish fold. The 25-year-old started each of Chelsea’s last 14 matches of 2023-24, most notably excelling in an inverted full-back role. This saw him recalled to the Spanish national team in March for the first time in three years, with De la Fuente a manager he knew extremely well. The pair had previously worked together with the Spanish under-21s and at the 2020 Olympics, in which Spain claimed a silver medal.  

However, the general feeling was still that Cucurella was somewhat fortuitous to receive a call up this summer. De la Fuente has used several left-backs over the year that he has been at the helm of La Roja, but injuries to both José Gayà and Alejandro Baldé paved the way for Cucurella’s inclusion in the 26-man squad. And it’s a decision that has more than paid off. 

Cucurella has grasped the opportunity to play in his first major international tournament with both hands, receiving rave reviews for his performances in the group stage. The 25-year-old has seemingly got the nod as Spain’s first choice left-back ahead of Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Álex Grimaldo. Cucurella started both of La Roja’s opening two group games, with De la Fuente’s side earning impressive victories over Croatia and Italy to clinch top spot in Group B. The Spaniard was even included in our MD2 Team of the Round after his stellar display against the Azzurri.

The defender has been criticised for his defensive mishaps during his spell in the Premier League, though that’s been far from the case in Germany this summer. Cucurella has been an imposing figure on the left of the Spanish back-four, with the 25-year-old being dribbled past just once across the two games. He has also won 17 of his 22 duels – the most of any player for Spain. Impressively, his 77% duel success rate is the highest of any defender in the competition to have attempted 20+ duels in the group stage.  

He has been an almighty presence within De la Fuente’s side, making the most tackles (six) and  interceptions (four) of any Spanish player in the competition. In fact, one Spanish journalist claimed that it felt like there had been “five Cucurellas” in the 1-0 victory over Italy. The left-back has been superb in 1v1 situations, comfortably marshalling both Lovro Majer and Federico Chiesa. He has won possession 10 times at EURO 2024, with only Fabián Ruiz doing so on more occasions for Spain (21).  

Cucurella has also forged a fantastic partnership with winger Nico Williams down Spain’s left flank. The left-back’s defensive solidity has afforded Williams the freedom to fearlessly drive forward while safe knowing that he has the defender supporting behind him. Cucurella’s marauding runs forward have become an all-too-common sight in this Spanish side, with his surges forward creating space for the deadly Williams to exploit. The 25-year-old often looks to underlap the wide-man by floating into the left half-space and drawing opposition markers out of position, with the duo collaborating to devastating effect in the Italy victory. 

The Chelsea full-back also has a huge involvement in Spain’s build-up. Cucurella has shown that he is extremely comfortable in possession, constantly combining with Williams and Ruiz on the left-hand side. Indeed, he has completed the third most passes of any Spain player in the opposition half across the tournament (53). The defender has been extremely efficient on the ball and boasted a 98% pass completion rate against Italy (completing 52/53 passes).  

Spain have been one of the top performers at EURO 2024, and Cucurella has undoubtedly been a huge factor in their supreme showings. La Roja became just the second side in European Championships history to maintain an 100% group stage record without conceding a goal (after Italy at EURO 2020 – who went on to win the competition). 

After being rested for La Roja’s dead rubber group game against Albania, Cucurella is set to come straight back into the side for their Round of 16 clash with Georgia. Though following his fantastic displays, his inclusion this time out should come as no surprise at all.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.