Micah Richards has named former Chelsea star Marc Cucurella as the 'most underrated left-back' in world football ahead of the World Cup quarter-final between Spain and Belgium. The two European giants will face off in Los Angeles on Friday night, with tournament favourites France awaiting the winner in the semi-finals.
Spain's defensive resilience
Spain began the World Cup with an embarrassing goalless draw against debutants Cape Verde but have bounced back in style, most recently beating Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. Much praise must be given to their remarkable defence, who are yet to concede a single goal in the tournament.
Cucurella, who during the tournament completed a £52million transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid, has played every minute of Spain's campaign so far. He has proven a menace for opposing teams, as in addition to his five clean sheets, the 27-year-old has recorded two assists, more than any other Spain player.
Richards' high praise
'Cucurella is probably the most underrated left-back in world football,' former England full-back Richards said on the Rest is Football podcast. 'He always delivers. Whether it's defensively, you always think you've got past him and then he gets a leg or a tackle in, he reads it. And then going forward, he just gives them a different dimension with [Alex] Baena on that left-hand side. I just think he's been brilliant.'
Richards also addressed the controversy surrounding Cucurella's departure from Chelsea. 'There's all that talk about how he disrespected Chelsea. I didn't like that, talking about other clubs when [Chelsea are] paying your wages. But he's at Madrid now, I don't know if that's given him a new confidence.'
Shearer's view on Cucurella
Former England captain and striker Alan Shearer added his own assessment: 'Cucurella is one of those players where if he's on the opposition, you as a fan just don't like him. Just his style and his aggression. But if he's on your team, you would love him!'
Cucurella's journey to Real Madrid
Cucurella joined Chelsea from Brighton in a deal worth up to £63m in 2022. After a shaky start, he established himself as one of the Premier League's best left-backs. He won the Club World Cup and Conference League last year but had 'no hesitation' to leave when Real Madrid came calling, a decision that has left Chelsea captain and England star Reece James 'devastated', according to reports.
Spain vs Belgium preview
Spain are well-fancied to advance to the semi-finals but will have their work cut out defending a Belgium team who have scored an impressive 13 goals in the tournament – only France and Argentina have more. However, Richards believes that the quality of Cucurella and right-back Pedro Porro of Tottenham can deal with Belgium's attackers like Leandro Trossard and Jeremy Doku.
'It's going to be difficult [for Belgium],' the former Manchester City star added. 'You can't forget [Charles] De Ketelaere, he can cause problems, he really likes to get in them spaces where the full-backs will be going forward. But I just think Spain are going to push them back way too far and it's going to be difficult.'
