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- England will face Spain in the Euro 2024 final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Sunday
- Cucurella has had an impressive campaign in defense for De la Fuente’s men
Spain and Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has identified one member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad he hopes will remain on the bench when La Roja take on the Three Lions in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.
The two teams will meet tomorrow night in Berlin in what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the tournament in Germany.
Cucurella has impressed with his performances for Luis de la Fuente’s men, and his displays have earned him the choice ahead of Bayer Leverkusen’s Alex Grimaldo at left-back.
Ahead of the clash at the Olympiastadion, the Blues defender revealed he has been in contact with club team-mate Cole Palmer and said he hopes the talented youngster will not feature in the encounter.
“I spoke to him, but it was more than a week ago. We spoke for a while in the previous rounds,” Cucurella told the Spanish publication. Sports world.
Spain and Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has identified one England star he hopes will not feature in the Euro 2024 final
Cucurella has impressed with Spain coach Luis de la Fuente (pictured) and is set to start in Sunday’s final.
Cucurella believes Spain’s chances will improve if Chelsea team-mate Cole Palmer (right) remains on the bench for the game.
“For me it’s much better that he doesn’t play and stays on the bench.”
After a spectacular debut season at Stamford Bridge, Palmer has been forced to settle for a supporting role during England’s Euro campaign. However, he has managed to make a couple of significant contributions.
The 22-year-old confidently took England’s opening penalty in their quarter-final shoot-out win over Switzerland before providing a superb assist for Ollie Watkins’ 90th-minute winner in the semi-final.
The England-Spain clash will bring together a number of club team-mates and Cucurella revealed that De la Fuente has sought advice from several of his Premier League players.
“We had our first chat today and we talked about it a bit,” he added. “But he has Rodri, who knows more about English football than I do.
‘I guess if you have doubts, we can give you different points of view.
“We’re going to approach the match like we’ve done in all the previous encounters. If we’re at our best, we have a good chance of winning.”
Spain go into the final as favourites after sweeping away all their rivals on the way to Berlin. The 25-year-old defender has been one of the stars who has impressed in Germany.
Last week, he sparked the ire of many home fans for his involvement in a controversial penalty decision during Spain’s quarter-final win over Germany, earning him boos from Germans attending La Roja’s semi-final against France.
Palmer (right) has been forced to settle for a supporting role during England’s Euro campaign.
The defender has drawn the ire of Germans after his involvement in the controversial penalty decision against the hosts last week.
“At first, yes, a little, because I didn’t really understand it,” he said. “But soon I saw that there were a lot of people in white and I understood why.”
‘Spending money to be in the semi-finals of the Euros and then booing… they could have given the ticket to someone who would have enjoyed the match.
‘The important thing is that we are in the final and people who were angry or bored are watching it at home.’
