The Cubarsí World Cup

He is only 19 years old and is an undisputed starter with a team that has qualified for the World Cup semifinals for the second time in its history. Pau Cubarsí forms, together with Aymeric Laporte, the most solid partnership in the championship: they have only conceded one goal in seven matches, that of the Belgian De Ketelaere. But what's more, the Barcelona player even dared to shoot at goal with a shot that goalkeeper Lammens saved and which Mikel Merino took advantage of to score the definitive 2-1 for the Spanish national team.

Cubarsí's statistics against Belgium are impressive. Only Rodri touched the ball more against the Belgians than the Catalan, even though the midfielder made more mistakes because he had a 94% success rate in his 104 combination attempts. The center-back completed no less than 89 out of 91 passes correctly. These are the numbers of an absolute star, for a kid who until recently said that if football didn't work out, his backup plan was to continue with the family business, his father's carpentry shop in Estanyol, a town of less than 200 inhabitants. Just in case, of course, he is enrolled in the degree in business administration and management.

It is highly unlikely that Cubarsí will be chosen as the MVP of a World Cup match, especially when a certain Lamine Yamal plays alongside him, who, despite not being in superstar mode, is being fundamental for the national team, not only for his willingness, passion, or technical qualities, but also for his intelligence in not obsessing about being the protagonist and scoring a goal before filtering passes to his teammates and attracting opponents. But the center-back deserves public recognition. If the Spanish national team is in the semifinals, it is also thanks to him.

Now awaits the best offensive power of the World Cup: Dembélé, Doué, Olise, and Mbappé. Almost nothing. But it is people and stories like Pau Cubarsí's that allow us to identify with a team that is more than a uniform and emotionless entity, and that gives us the opportunity to cheer for a 19-year-old who is living a dream he didn't count on two years ago, when he debuted at 17 against Unionistas de Salamanca in the Copa del Rey under Hansi Flick. When the years go by and we remember the World Cup in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, we will also realize that it was Cubarsí's first.