Marc Cucurella Hopes Cole Palmer Stays Benched for Euro 2024 Final
Spain and Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has singled out one member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad he prefers to see on the bench when La Roja faces the Three Lions in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday. The highly anticipated clash in Berlin promises a thrilling end to the tournament in Germany.
Cucurella has been a standout performer for Luis de la Fuente’s squad, securing his spot at left-back over Bayer Leverkusen’s Alex Grimaldo.
Ahead of the showdown at the Olympiastadion, Cucurella revealed he has been in contact with his club teammate, Cole Palmer, and hopes the talented youngster won’t see action in the final.
“I spoke with him, but it was over a week ago. We talked for a while in the previous rounds,” Cucurella told Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo. “For me, it’s much better if he doesn’t play and stays on the bench.”
Palmer, coming off a stellar debut season at Stamford Bridge, has played a limited role in England’s Euro campaign but has made significant contributions.
The 22-year-old scored the opening penalty in England’s quarter-final shoot-out win over Switzerland and assisted Ollie Watkins’ 90th-minute winner in the semi-final.
The final will feature several club teammates, and Cucurella shared that De la Fuente has been seeking advice from his Premier League-based players. “Today we had our first talk and we discussed it a bit,” he said. “But he has Rodri, who knows more about English football than I do. I suppose that if he has doubts, we can give him different points of view. We are going to approach the game as we have done for every other match so far. If we are at our best level, we have a good chance of winning.”
Spain enters the final as favorites after an impressive run to Berlin. Cucurella, one of the stars of the tournament, drew criticism from German fans for a controversial penalty decision during Spain’s quarter-final win over Germany, resulting in boos during the semi-final against France.
“At first, yes, a little, because I didn’t really understand it,” Cucurella said. “But I quickly saw that there were a lot of people in white and I understood why.
Spending money to be in the semi-finals of the European Championship and then to boo… they could have given the ticket to someone who would have enjoyed the match.
A key battle when @Arsenal took on @ChelseaFC 😤
— Premier League (@premierleague) July 13, 2024
Will rivalries be renewed between Bukayo Saka and Marc Cucurella in the #Euro2024 final? 🏴🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/1Y4UNW41R1
The important thing is that we are in the final and the people who were angry or bored are watching it at home.”
As Spain prepares to face England, Cucurella’s performances and interactions with his club teammates add an intriguing subplot to what promises to be an exciting finale to Euro 2024.
Marc Cucurella Hopes Cole Palmer Stays Benched for Euro 2024 Final
