Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has waxed lyrical about the performances of one Euro 2024 star who was on the receiving end of early criticism from Gary Neville.
Euro 2024 culminated on Sunday evening with Spain beating England 2-1 in the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Spain went their entire Euro 2024 campaign undefeated and Luis de la Fuente’s men lifted the Henri Delaunay trophy in Germany this summer.
La Roja took the lead early in the second half against England after Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams opened the scoring at the Olympiastadion.
England rallied back late in the second half and Chelsea star Cole Palmer came off the bench and cancelled out Nico Williams’ opener in the 73rd minute.
However, Mikel Oyarzabal restored Spain’s advantage in the 86th minute and Luis de la Fuente’s side held on to secure a stunning final win over England.
Ferdinand praises Spain star at Euro 2024
Speaking after the Euro 2024 final, Rio Ferdinand congratulated Spain on their victory and admitted that he was impressed with several players.
The Manchester United legend raved about in-form Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal, who dazzled at the tournament alongside Spain teammate Nico Williams.
However, Ferdinand also turned his attention to Marc Cucurella and insisted that the Chelsea left-back deserved a “special mention” for his impact at the tournament.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE, he said: “The best team won the cup and that was Spain. Congratulations to Spain.
“Shoutout [Lamine] Yamal. He was 16 when this tournament started, 17 when he lifted the trophy. Ridiculous.
“Will this ever be beaten, this kind of performance from a kid so young? Nico Williams, Dani Olmo, Rodri […].
“Shoutout Cucurella, by the way. Special mention.
“Ridiculed by some fans, looked at and talked about as a failure and a flop at Chelsea last season… best left-back in the tournament.
“Great character, great performances and he deservedly lifts the trophy and set up the winning goal.”
What did Neville say about Cucurella?
Marc Cucurella had a starring role for Spain at this summer’s Euros and the 25-year-old played in all but one of the seven matches at the tournament for his country.
The Spain international was met with criticism at Chelsea last season, with Gary Neville insisting that Cucurella was not “convincing” for the Blues.
Speaking on ITV early into Euro 2024, Neville said (via Indy100): “He’s not been convincing at Chelsea. He’s played a few games towards the end of the season.
“He’s aggressive, he’s tenacious, he’s a busy little full-back. The price tag still astounds everyone to this day.
“The Spanish defence, it’s got a lot of experience now but there’s something just missing from Spain that makes you feel like they’re going to go all the way.
“I have to say that him being at left-back is a good example of why we think that.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/IWGjsNu