While Lamine Yamal attracts all eyes with his innate talent, Pau Cubarsi is the silent factor contributing greatly to helping Spain get closer to the 2026 World Cup championship. The 19-year-old center-back continued to have an excellent performance when locking down the French team's attack, contributing to helping La Roja win 2-0 and keep a clean sheet for the sixth time after 7 matches at the tournament.
Before the semi-final, many people worried that Cubarsi would face difficulties when facing Kylian Mbappe and the French attacking stars. However, the young Barcelona player showed incredible composure, continuously neutralizing dangerous attacks and making Mbappe almost have not much space to make a difference.
Cubarsi is one of the biggest bright spots of the Spanish defense. He made the most clearances in the match and had an accurate tackle against Mbappe, showing his impressive one-on-one defense. Former Barcelona player Oscar Garcia believes that Cubarsi has enough potential to become one of the best center-backs in football history.
Not only solid in defense, Cubarsi is also outstanding in ball development ability. Only Rodri made more passes than him in the Spanish shirt at the 2026 World Cup. The 19-year-old center-back is also in the group of players who made the most cross-line passes in the tournament, and also leads in the number of passes to the opponent's half.
The accurate pass rate of up to 96.2% shows Cubarsi's admirable stability. The biggest strength of this center-back is his ability to launch attacks with accurate passes, helping to eliminate many opposing players.
Yamal once commented that Cubarsi is currently one of the three best players in the world in his ability to bring the ball from the defense forward. This is evidenced throughout this year's World Cup, when he both ensures safety in the defense and plays the role of initiator for many attacks of Spain.
Although only 19 years old, Cubarsi has made more than 100 appearances for Barcelona after debuting in La Liga before the age of 17. Coach Hansi Flick considers him the number one choice in the center-back position, and Luis de la Fuente also has full faith in this young talent in the national team.
Of course, Cubarsi's growth process is not lacking in lessons. He once received a red card in the match against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, but that experience helped this young center-back improve his ability to read situations and handle pressure.
Another outstanding strength of Cubarsi is his ability to trap offsides. No player at the 2026 World Cup has successfully performed more offside trap situations than him. The combination of speed, defensive thinking and ball handling ability makes Cubarsi the ideal piece in Spain's system.
When Yamal is constantly mentioned as a symbol of the new generation, Cubarsi silently proves his value in a less glamorous position. If Spain wins the 2026 World Cup, the 19-year-old center-back can be considered one of the most important factors on the journey to conquer the gold cup.
