Cucurella’s unbeaten World Cup knockout run fuels Real Madrid hopes

In the night of the World Cup semifinal, Spain eliminated France as Real Madrid’s newest signing, Marc Cucurella, completed the knockout phase without being dribbled past once, a statistic that has instantly raised his profile. Spain absolutely dominated and dumped France out of the FIFA World Cup last night in the semifinal of the competition. The Spanish side held possession, attacked with purpose and defended with serious solidity for the full ninety minutes. While many called La Roja favourites ahead of the entire event, their performances were considered significantly poorer than those of France, and Les Bleus were the favourites heading into the semifinal. Nevertheless, the comprehensive team display humbled the 2018 champions. The only Real Madrid player at the FIFA World Cup is Marc Cucurella, who signed for the club just before the first game of the tournament. The Spanish left‑back has shown class down Spain’s left flank, combining defensive solidity with a major attacking outlet on transition.

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Cucurella’s numbers speak for themselves: he has not been dribbled past a single time in the entire knockout stage of the competition. This unbeaten record underscores his defensive discipline and positional awareness. His performance against Austria in the Round of 32 was phenomenal, as he recorded two assists while remaining unbeaten by dribblers. Against both Portugal and Belgium he faced some of the world’s best wingers and simply pocketed them with ease. Last night, he faced Michael Olise in the game against France and kept the French winger silent throughout, continuing the same defensive work against Rayan Cherki after the latter entered the match. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) The ongoing World Cup has caused Cucurella’s valuation to peak, and Real Madrid will be glad to have completed the transfer at the right time. Heading into next season, the Spaniard will be Jose Mourinho’s go‑to left‑back ahead of Alvaro Carreras, and his overlapping runs alongside Vinicius Jr. will make Real Madrid’s left wing one of the most dangerous in the world.