La Masia is the creme-de-la-creme when it comes to producing young footballers and the 2007 crop could be its best yet.
Imagine a world in which Spain and Barcelona’s starting centre-back and right-winger were born six months apart and came through the same youth system. That’s the reality for the Spanish national team with Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal.
Nineteen-year-old centre-half Cubarsi is almost certain to make Luis de la Fuente’s final 26-man squad for this summer’s World Cup, having started the vast majority of Barcelona’s matches over the past two seasons.
Pau Cubarsi – The Boy’s A Bit Special
Pau Cubarsi with his Player of the Match award after Barcelona’s win over Napoli in the Champions League in March 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images)
Cubarsi made his Spain international debut in March 2024, at the age of 17, just four months on from his final appearance for the Under-17s.
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Strangely enough, he became a full Spanish international before appearing with the Under-21s.
Pau Cubarsi (Image credit: Getty Images)
The baby-faced central defender is the advert for Barcelona and Spain’s youth football pathway. ‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ has never been truer than in Cubarsi’s case.
He’s not particularly tall, standing at six foot or possibly even half an inch less, which is rare for modern day centre-halves? He isn’t built like a wide-set bulldozer either, but more often than not comes out on top.
It probably won’t come as a surprise that Cubarsi’s game hinges quite heavily on his ability in possession.
He’s a great passer of the ball, because he keeps it simple, and for his size is still pretty handy in the air, even if that isn’t his primary function.
He’s faced his fair share of intimidating frontmen already in his short career. Upon making his Champions League debut in the knockout rounds two seasons ago, Cubarsi went up against Victor Osimhen, then of Napoli, and Kylian Mbappe’s PSG in his first two competition outings. Barcelona won both matches with Cubarsi playing from start-to-finish.
Pau Cubarsi of Spain at the 2024 Olympic Games (Image credit: Getty Images)
In the 2024 Olympic Final, Cubarsi’s Spain beat France in extra-time, a team which included an experienced front two of Alexandre Lacazette and Jean-Philippe Mateta, Michael Olise, as well as Rayan Cherki and Desire Doue off the bench.
Cubarsi made 14 clearances, seven of which were with his head, something he’s not being forced to do week-in, week-out for Barcelona, but shows he’s capable.
His knowledge of the game is top of the pile, and he reads danger like he’s been doing it a decade. Occasionally, he’ll seek out a diagonal from right-sided centre-back to the left flank, but only when it’s appropriate to do so. His long passing is only going to improve the more he matures and the longer he remains in a possession-dominant Barça team.
DID YOU KNOW: Cubarsi rarely interviews in Spanish because he grew up in a Catalan-speaking household