Most times, the media spotlight at a FIFA World Cup tends to focus on attackers, and heading into the 2026 tournament, almost everyone had their eyes fixated on Lamine Yamal, an exciting fleet-footed Barcelona winger who has been taking everyone by surprise since his breakthrough back in 2023. 

Yet, it is in fact another youngster within the ranks of the Spanish squad that is making a compelling case to win the award by the end of the ongoing tournament. 

At just 19 years old, Pau Cubarsi is outperforming every single under-21 prodigy on the planet.

While Yamal’s explosive ceiling remains undeniable, his momentum has been slightly hampered by minor fitness concerns and calculated minute-management. 

One man’s misfortune has become another’s opportunity, and Cubarsi has built an absolute fortress. 

The Barcelona prodigy is making a compelling case to break historical conventions and become the first pure center-back ever to claim the prestigious FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award.

Pau Cubarsi Has Become Spain's Defensive Leader

Cubarsi has given Spain sheer structural stability. Paired alongside the vastly accomplished Aymeric Laporte, Cubarsi is the only under-20 footballer left in the tournament to have played every single minute for his country. 

Normally, that is unheard of for a defender under the age of 23, as Arsene Wenger once said in a forum a number of years ago, as defenders that young might tend to be erratic, which proves to be at the detriment of a team.

"I play a young central defender of 20-years-old and I know he will cost me points in the season. I have to stand up for that,” Wenger said.

“At some stage, I must say, as a manager you feel lonely to stand up and say, ‘No, I want this boy to play because he deserves it.’ You learn your job at 23-years of age. 23 to 24 you have a player. Until 23 he will make up and down." 

However, Cubarsi has proven to defy this logic. Just like at his club Barcelona, his unusual maturity for a teenager has enabled Spain to march into the final eight on the back of five consecutive clean sheets before their game against Belgium. 

He is reading the game with the cold, calculated precision of a 35-year-old veteran, registering 19 ball recoveries and winning 23 primary defensive actions heading into the quarterfinals.

Why Cubarsi Is More Than Just a Defender

What truly elevates Cubarsi into world-class territory, however, is his role as Spain’s deep-lying tactical playmaker. 

In De la Fuente’s system, Cubarsi is not just a passive stopper deployed to clear lines. He is the literal origin point of their possession sequences.

His distribution metrics over Spain’s first five matches are staggering. He has completed an astonishing 432 out of 449 attempted passes—operating at a microscopic 96.2% accuracy rate.

During a tense Round of 16 battle against Portugal, Cubarsi dismantled a high-pressing system by completing 71 of 77 passes. Crucially, 34 of those completions occurred directly inside the opposition half.

Far from just recycling possession laterally to his partner Aymeric Laporte, Cubarsi is actively hunting for defensive fissures. He is currently averaging over 8 line-breaking passes per 90 minutes and has chipped in with 5 key chances created from deep.

Can Pau Cubarsi Become the First Defender to Win the Best Young Player Award?

The FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award has historically been an exclusive club for goalscorers and dazzling creators.

In 2022, it was Enzo Fernandez of Argentina, who played as a deep lying creator, who walked awa with the award. In 2018, Kylian Mbappe took it home, while Lucas Podolski, Thomas Muller and Paul Pogba clinched it at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions respectively.

However, no defender has ever clinched that award, as defenders are systematically ignored because their best work is inherently preventative rather than statistical.

Yet, if Spain manages to bypass Belgium while preserving their impenetrable defensive structure, the voting block will find it impossible to ignore the numbers.

Cubarsi is statistically the most secure distributor at the tournament while simultaneously commanding a backline that refuses to concede.

Yamal may still command the headlines, but Cubarsi is the tactical engine keeping Spain's World Cup dream alive, and capping it off with an individual award will be the icing on the cake.