The whole world was raving about the French national team attack coming into the World Cup semifinals, and while they were the heavy favorites for the casual fan, the diehards saw Spain and their ability to play as a team and control games as the true favorites. And Spain backed them up, dominating Les Bleus and frustrating the star studded attack of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, and Bradley Barcola in a 2-0 win.
Instead of Mbappe and Olise running rampant again, it was the elite fullback duo of Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro who took center stage. And funny enough, Cucurella was a new signing for Real Madrid this summer with Jose Mourinho seeing him as the dream option, while Porro was the dream pick at right back; it's just that Tottenham Hotspur were smart enough to reject Madrid and sign the 26 year old to a new contract to ward the interest off.
Cucurella turned heads with another dominant defensive performance to continue a tournament in which he has been, by far and away, the best left back. He made Real Madrid's new No.1 transfer target Michael Olise, one of the best players at the 2026 World Cup in his own right, look quite ordinary in this crucial semifinal battle.
Michael Olise got shut down
The left back's midfield teammate Fabian Ruiz, a former Real Madrid transfer target several years ago while at Real Betis, said it best in the locker room after the game. Cameras caught Ruiz telling Marc Cucurella, via the Madrid Zone, “You ate him alive now take him out of your pocket.”
It may seem boorish to put it in those terms, but Cucurella did indeed have Olise in his pocket. Olise created a couple of chances and worked hard on both ends of the pitch for France, but he was ultimately highly ineffective and was always second best to Cucurella in individual duels, unable to get around the former Chelsea left back.
Florentino Perez is obsessed with signing Olise, but Olise, despite playing at a very high level against Morocco and some other opponents, struggled against more defensive teams like Paraguay and Spain. Olise did not look like a 222 million euro player or someone deserving of a transfer fee tying Neymar on this day against Spain, and Perez may not like to admit that, but Olise may not be worth that kind of money right now, even if he is a great transfer target for them in the future.
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