Pau Cubarsí #22

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At just 19 years old, Cubarsí has become the leader of Barcelona’s defence. The departure of Iñigo Martínez last summer gave the youngster a new status within Hansi Flick’s squad: he stopped being the young apprentice learning off the senior players beside him and started marshalling the defence himself. It has not always gone to plan, a red card against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League a case in point. But his stature in the selección has changed as well, with Luis de la Fuente now considering him a possible starter. Now the coach must decide whether to play him alongside the experience of Aymeric Laporte or gamble with the young pairing of Cubarsí and Dean Huijsen. Comes into the World Cup having just won his second La Liga title.

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