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Neville doubted Cucurella had what it takes to be part of a European Championship-winning side but the left-back and Spain proved the ITV pundit wrong. Marc Cucurella has had the last laugh after Gary Neville questioned whether Spain could win Euro 2024 with the left-back on the pitch. Neville made the comment earlier in the tournament while working as a pundit for ITV, when he suggested Cucurella was one of the reasons why he felt Spain could not win the Euros. That turned out to be wide of the mark: Cucurella was Spain’s first-choice left-back for the tournament despite enduring a difficult season with Chelsea, and he was one of the Spanish team’s best players, even providing the assist for Mikel Oyarzabal’s winning goal against England in the final. Afterwards, Cucurella posted Neville’s quote on Instagram alongside the caption: “We went all the way Gary. Thanks for your support,” accompanied by loveheart, trophy and Spanish flag emojies. Neville had offered some praise of the 25-year-old defender, who moved from Brighton to Chelsea in an eye-watering £62m transfer two summers ago, but said he was a reason to doubt Spain’s trophy challenge. “He’s not been convincing at Chelsea,” Neville said during the group stage. “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 [but] 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 not 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.”
