Young Barcelona player shares his World Cup dream after Spain leads the group
Pau Cubarsi, a young Barcelona player, expressed his joy at playing in his first World Cup as Spain topped Group H. He emphasized the importance of family support and team spirit as Spain prepares for the knockout round.
Spain may not have shown their best performance at the 2026 World Cup, but they excelled at the top of Group H, surpassing Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cabo Verde. Barcelona has eight players representing La Roja at this major tournament, and one of the most prominent faces after the group stage matches is Pau Cubarsi. The youngster, a La Masia graduate, is playing in his first World Cup but performs like an experienced defender. After Spain completed the group stage in first place, Cubarsi said: "I am living the dream of enjoying my first World Cup. Having my family by my side is something that makes me extremely proud."
"My family is always there to support me, and I think that's the key to me feeling calm enough to play my style. I'm glad they're here with me." That calmness is what Barcelona fans recognize. Cubarsi rarely appears to be in a hurry, even when the match gets tense or his opponents try to pressure him. When asked what Spain needs to improve, he said: "We know that we played very well today. We also understand that the upcoming matches will require us to fight harder because this is the knockout round, and I believe the team is ready."
“Sometimes the games get more complicated, but with the right mentality and everyone pulling together, I think we can achieve great things.” Cubarsi also explained the difficulty of the match, saying: "We knew that today's match required us to be very precise with the ball. Maybe we didn't start well, but we improved gradually. We had to find space, and that was not easy because they were also putting pressure on us."
"I think our goal today was to compete at the highest level and win. We will use the days off to improve where we need to, but we leave this match with confidence because we played very well." His form is once again very stable. When he learned he only made two mistakes and had a 98% success rate, Cubarsi replied: “I try to help the team with my ability, whether from the backline or physically.”
"I try to improve every day to win the coach's trust and become a full-time player. And if that doesn't happen, I will still help the team because we are a big family and everyone is here to contribute." That answer shows his maturity. At 19 years old, he spoke like someone who understood motivation, and despite being a full-time player, he remained humble enough to strive.
Cubarsi then spoke about Spain as a team and added: "We are focusing on ourselves. We just finished the group stage in first place, that was the main goal, and now we need to rest and prepare for the next match." La Roja are yet to concede a goal in this competition, and when asked about keeping a clean sheet, he said: "The key is to keep a clean sheet because we know the attacking quality we have. Defensively, I think we started very well. Unai and the whole defense have been excellent, and I believe the most important thing is to continue to keep clean sheets." When asked to evaluate Spain's performance in the group stage, he said: "Maybe at the beginning of the match we didn't start the best. The opening matches of the World Cup are always difficult, but then we found a rhythm and stability in the matches. I think we improved step by step. We are now at the level we wanted to be." Finally, when asked how he stays calm when facing strikers like Darwin Nunez, Cubarsi replied: "I'm just myself on the field. I think there's no specific age for that. You have to give everything to your teammates and win every one-on-one duels. That's what I try to do, I try to improve every day and will continue to do so." Barcelona fans have known Cubarsi excelled for a long time, but now the 19-year-old is shining on the global stage with his performances for Spain. Aymeric Laporte and the youngster form one of the best centre-back pairings at the World Cup, and they will be key to Spain's journey in this year's tournament.
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