Former Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has reached the World Cup final with Spain following their 2-0 win against France on Tuesday.
It means Cucurella will now play at least one of his ex-Chelsea teammates this Sunday, with England taking on Argentina in the other semi-final.
Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah are the Chelsea stars who are representing England, while Enzo Fernandez will line up for Argentina on Wednesday night.
Rayo Vallecano’s Pep Chavarria could be a suitable replacement for Cucurella if he joins Chelsea this summer, but the Blues could still end up regretting their decision to sell their former full-back to Real Madrid.
Do you want to see Pep Chavarria, Marco Palestra or Jorrel Hato at left-back next season?
Chavarria didn't do a bad job in the Conference League final against Crystal Palace
Former Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella described as a ‘beast’ after Spain’s 2-0 win against France
Cucurella is one of the best left-backs in the world and has just proven that on the biggest stage. One Spanish newspaper, AS, was so impressed with his performance that they described him as a “beast”.
In a match review, they wrote: “He had a double whammy to mark: “[Michael] Olise and [Ousmane] Dembele. They constantly swapped positions. And he contained them as best he could. He was very firm in his duels, as always.
“Offensively, he wasn’t overly connected with [Alex] Baena, but he kept pushing forward and making himself available. It was from one of his crosses that the penalty on Lamine [Yamal] came. Although a yellow card for excessive force in the first half hampered him, he battled hard. A rock, a beast.”
The words “rock” and “beast” perfectly sum up Cucurella. One-v-one, the 27-year-old is extremely solid, while there is not a winger in world football who fazes him.
In the France game, Cucurella had the task of defending against Olise and Dembele, as AS mentioned, and he managed to come out on top.
Olise and Dembele are two of the best attackers in world football, but Cucurella managed to limit their threat.
There are similarities between Cucurella and Chavarria, so again, the Rayo man could be a good signing for Chelsea. The Blues also have Jorrel Hato, who impressed in the second half of last season.
However, is either player a better defender than Cucurella? Perhaps Hato has the potential to surpass the Spain international one day, but as of now, the answer is no.
Chelsea received good money for Cucurella considering his age and contract situation, but they will be unable to sign an upgrade with it. There is not currently one on the market.
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