World Cup 2026: Why Marc Cucurella, with old-school virtues, is vital in Spain’s engine room

6 min readNew YorkUpdated: Jul 3, 2026 09:12 AM The hair, Marc Cucurella says, is sacred. But he promises he will go bald if Spain lifts the World Cup. But when the moment arrives, the larrikin in him could deny, “Did I say that really?” He had made the promise before. A Barcelona product, as recently as April, he claimed he would rather chop the locks he had been nourishing for over a decade than join Real Madrid.
Come May, he signed a 60-million pound contract to join the Spanish powerhouse. “Hair is not essential to my personality, it is my personality,” he told Spanish outlet Marca.
The springy curls, girdled a hairband that is about to burst, is part of what has made him a cult figure in Spain and England, where he played for five years. The full-back, who assed two goals and saw a goal he scored chalked off in Spain’s dismembering of Austria, is the European champions’ wind-up merchant. The provocateur, his friends call him. When his goal was ruled out, he rushed to the referee, and commanded rather than implored him to check the VAR. Replays only justified the referee’s verdict, even though Pau Cubarsi infringement on Austria’s goalkeeper Xaver Schlager was soft. But he sought a detailed explanation from the referee, voiced his displeasure, and walked away shaking his head.
AS IT HAPPENED | SPAIN VS AUSTRIA WORLD CUP 2026 HIGHLIGHTS
Six minutes later, after Mikel Oyarzabal scored from Cucurella’s low cross and put Spain in front, he pounced in front of the referee and asked him, sarcastically, if the goal stood. The referee pointed to his pocket, suggesting he would flash a yellow card. Cucurella turned away and joined his teammates in celebration. He is an antithesis to the modern La Masia-raised footballer, the elegant, soft-spoken styl, economical with his words and moves. He is the old-school hard tackling rogue. His manager at Eibar once summed him up precisely. “He’s not quick, he’s not strong. All those things we measure with all those machines we have, he doesn’t reger on any of them; you would never sign him,” he said. “But he’s a footballer.”
But he has become an integral part of Luis de la Fuente’s (who was a left-back with curled halo like Cucurella in his playing days) wondrously eclectic, mould-breaking side brimming with lively characters. Since the tiki taka era, the stereotype of La Rojas as a tessellation of fine-tuned technicians have clung on, as a burden first and as a convenient shield later. His orchestra is not a harmony of similar notes, but a medley of diverse tunes, but each combining perfectly to produce tuneful music.
Oyarzabal’s role
Take for instance the brace-scorer Oyarzabal. He is not a classical nine, or a neo-classical false nine. He is not a centre forward, or a playmaker. But he does some of all their functions. He scores like a No.9; both his strikes were ripped off the classical manual. He drops back like a false nine; he wears the playmaking duties when Dani Olmo or Pedri is engaged somewhere else. He is the antithesis of Cucurella, who provided both his asss, and found time to complete his masters in business management.
Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena flank him. Yamal ghosts through defences; he is the prince of audacity, imagining inconceivable paths for the ball to travel in his mind. He didn’t score against Austria, twice the goalkeeper blocked his shots, but he lingered like a throbbing headache for the defenders. Baena, nurtured in Atletico Madrid, is a muscular, rumbustious winger, who employs the strength of his body as much as the gift of technique. He is a left-side midfielder redeployed on the flanks due to Nico Williams’ injury. He was unfortunate that his brutish free kick cannoned off the crossbar.Story continues below this ad
Spain struck three goals against Austria. (AP)
Behind them is Dani Olmo, the invisible creator. Like Cucurella, he left Barcelona at 16, shocking his coaches, and rejoined them 16 years later. Some of the classical La Masia virtues remain, like the preternatural spatial awareness and passing range, but in Germany and Croatia, he learned to adjust to a more direct and vertical style.
Pedri is perhaps the lone classic chip off the Barcelona old-school, a figure of supreme grace. To Xavi, reminded him of Andrés Iniesta – “the greatest talent I’ve ever seen”. He is quick, without looking hurried; he only touches the ball, finds space without ever looking strained, never loses the ball or is ever out of position. “He dominates space and time perfectly: he’s a superlative player,” Xavi waxed eloquently.
He didn’t score a goal and make an ass, but he was omnipresent. The first goal originated from his sublime pass to Cucurella. Spain kept the ball so well, because Pedri kept the ball so well. When attacking half of Spain’s midfield triangle function, their defence becomes impenetrable and empower the full-backs with the liberty to blitz upfield. Right back Pedro Porro’s headed goal was a classic example of how control in midfield could liberate the defence.

Until the Austria game, Spain had looked blunt, even blasé. But against Austria they half resembled the unstoppable force they were in the European Championship. And they have uncanny, quirky protagons, when the lead acts like Yamal doesn’t turn up. Like Cucurella, the man who takes u-turns on promises attached to his curly halo.