Spain stars back Pau Cubarsi after difficult Olympic debut | OneFootball

Spain kicked off their 2024 Olympic campaign with a 2-1 Group B win over Uzbekistan in Paris.

La Roja are aiming to follow up their Euro 2024 title win with a gold medal in France in the coming weeks.

However, victory at the Parc des Princes was hard fought for Santi Denia’s team with Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi enduring a difficult debut.

Cubarsi has already been capped at senior level by Spain, and missed out on Euro 2024 due to injury, but he is the youngest male player at the Olympics this summer.

That inexperience caused a few nerves for the Catalan centre back as he was cautioned in the opening minutes against Uzbekistan.

That was followed by conceding a penalty, which Uzbekistan converted just before the break, and Denia opted to substitute the 17-year-old at half time.

Despite an afternoon to forget for the teenager, left back Juan Miranda offered his support, with Cubarsi expected to retain his starting spot.

“The yellow card affected him early on, but he’s a player who gives us a lot, he’s going to have a lot of minutes here”, as per quotes from Relevo.

“I don’t think he was nervous, he’s a player who seems to be made of ice”, added match winner Sergio Gomez.

Denia also dismissed concerns over Cubarsi’s maturity as Spain prepare for their second group game against the Dominican Republic on July 27.