Why Pau Cubarsí Deserved the 2026 World Cup Young Player of the Tournament Award

Spain’s Pau Cubarsí was named the best young player at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here, we analyse why the centre-back was a worthy winner of the award.

When Pau Cubarsí plays football, the maturity of his performances often makes it easy to forget just how young he is.

The 19-year-old central defender was named FIFA’s Young Player of the Tournament shortly after winning the World Cup final. To be at the heart of any backline at that age is impressive, but Cubarsí and co. were far and away the best defence of the entire tournament.

At the 2026 World Cup, Spain conceded just one goal in eight matches. They allowed their opponents just 1.69 xG from open play, which was the lowest of all 32 teams who made it out of the group stage, even though they made it all the way to the final and played twice as many matches as 16 of those teams.

La Roja kept an incredible seven clean sheets on their way to the title, with only Charles De Ketelaere breaching them when he scored Belgium’s equaliser in the quarter-finals to blemish an otherwise spotless record.

In the World Cup final, it was complete domination from Spain, who nullified the attacking threat of Argentina. During the regulation 90 minutes, Argentina had zero shots and just one touch in Spain’s box. Including extra-time, Spain restricted Lionel Scaloni’s side to just two shots worth a combined 0.2 xG.

With control to this degree comes plenty of possession, and to be a starting centre-back for Luis de la Fuente’s Spain, you must be as comfortable in possession as you are out of it. This is where Cubarsí really shines.

Cubarsí led all players in the World Cup final for touches (139), successful passes (121), passing accuracy (96%) and line-breaking passes (21). Of course, these numbers are inflated by the fact the game went to extra-time, not to mention Spain’s specific brand of possession-first football. But the centre-backs are so important in a team like this, and that he has the technical ability and mentality to be so focal at such a young age is particularly notable. And in a World Cup final, no less.

But he’s not merely a presence in possession. His defensive efforts in the final were also considerable, making the most clearances (six) of any player and winning the third-most duels (seven) on the Spain team. While it could be said Argentina didn’t pose much of an attacking threat, it might also be argued that was partly because of Cubarsí’s efforts.

It wasn’t a one-off for the Barcelona man, either; he really was this influential across the entire tournament. Only his teammate and Golden Ball winner Rodri (756) completed more passes than Cubarsí (671) at the World Cup; those two totals are also the highest on record (since 1966) at any edition of the tournament.

Certainly, many of these passes will have been simple, short passes – that’s just a reality of the territory for centre-backs. However, Cubarsí undoubtedly brought plenty of purpose and direction to the team with his distribution.

In fact, nobody completed more forward passes than Cubarsí (221), while no defender completed more progressive passes (open-play passes outside the defensive third that move the ball at least 25% closer to goal) than the Spanish centre-half (33), highlighting his positive mindset on the ball.

Obviously, chance creation isn’t really a metric you would tend to associate with centre-backs, but Cubarsí’s passing ability coupled with Spain’s general control make it more of a factor with him than most central defenders. His eight chances created was the most among centre-backs, while his five through balls (a pass putting a player through on goal and leading to a shooting chance by splitting last line of the defence) was equal most with Lisandro Martínez.

Cubarsí’s ability to break opposition lines with pinpoint passes was understandably key to Spain’s tidiness in possession, helping them play through opposition pressing structures or picking holes in compact midfields. Once again, only Rodri (122) completed more line-breaking passes than Cubarsí (104).

Of course, the fact that Spain played eight matches at the tournament means their players had more opportunity to add to these numbers. When looking at line-breaking passes made per 90 minutes played, Cubarsí drops down to 10th with 12.5; he ranks third among defenders behind only Jonathan Tah (14.9) and Tim Ream (12.8). Still, this demonstrates his ability to pick a pass and penetrate opposition lines.

Cubarsí was also happy to hold on to possession. His ability on the ball and forward-thinking nature often manifested in forays up the pitch; he ranked third for total carries (movements of at least 5 metres with the ball), with 172, and progressive carries (carrying the ball at least 5m upfield), with 106.

To be a leading defender in the modern game, there is an ever-increasing need to be confident and effective with the ball at your feet, and this is what already makes Cubarsí one of the best centre-halves in world football.

Before a ball was kicked at this year’s World Cup, most people would’ve expected this award to go to an exciting attacking player such as Lamine Yamal, but ultimately no young player’s impact – even if only subtle – and influence has come close to that of Cubarsí.

Spain ended the tournament as worthy winners of the 2026 World Cup, and it’s hard to think of anyone more deserving of the Young Player of the Tournament award than their 19-year-old centre-back.

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