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Madrid World Cup Spotlight: Cucurella and Bernardo Silva advance to Round of 16
Real Madrid’s summer recruits gathered momentum on the international stage, with Marc Cucurella and Bernardo Silva both featuring in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32.
The latest World Cup matches saw two of Los Blancos’ newest additions represent their respective nations, with Cucurella starring in Spain’s dominant 3-0 victory over Austria while Bernardo Silva helped Portugal secure a hard-fought 2-1 comeback win over Croatia.
Spain arguably produced their most complete performance of the tournament, comfortably dispatching Austria to advance to the Round of 16.
Portugal, meanwhile, had to dig deep to overcome Croatia in a tightly contested encounter.
Marc Cucurella vs Austria
Marc Cucurella continued his impressive form by producing one of his best performances of the tournament during Spain’s convincing victory over Austria.
The Real Madrid defender was heavily involved throughout the contest and played a significant role in La Roja’s attacking dominance.
Cucurella was unfortunate not to find the scoresheet himself during the first half after seeing a goal disallowed.
However, the setback did little to affect his confidence.
Spain took control through Mikel Oyarzabal before Pedro Porro doubled the advantage after the interval.
Cucurella then added another major contribution when he supplied the delivery that allowed Oyarzabal to complete his brace.
The Spaniard finished the evening with two assists, two big chances created and two key passes, underlining his importance in Spain’s attacking structure.
In possession, Cucurella was composed and efficient, completing 50 of his 55 attempted passes while frequently offering an outlet down the left flank.
Defensively, he was rarely tested as Austria struggled to sustain pressure, but he still managed to contribute with four recoveries, one interception and one clearance.
Overall, it was an encouraging display from the new Real Madrid signing, who appears to be adapting seamlessly to the demands of high-level international football.
Bernardo Silva vs Croatia
Bernardo Silva endured a quieter outing as Portugal edged past Croatia to reach the next round of the competition.
The Portuguese midfielder has seen his influence diminish slightly since the start of the World Cup, and his latest appearance followed a similar pattern.
The former Manchester City star entered the game in the 62nd minute, replacing Cristiano Ronaldo and inheriting the captain’s armband for the closing stages of the match.
Although he was unable to significantly impact proceedings in the final third, the Real Madrid midfielder contributed to Portugal’s game management as they protected their narrow advantage.
During his appearance, Bernardo registered 17 touches and completed eight of his 11 attempted passes.
He also made one clearance and recorded two recoveries, helping Portugal maintain control during the final moments of the encounter.
Interestingly, Spain and Portugal’s fate will intertwine as these two nations will face each other in the Round of 16, meaning that only one Real Madrid player will progress further.
Following their first loss of the season against Real Betis, Real Madrid face a tough test tonight as they take on Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu in their UEFA Champions League opener.
The Nerazzurri are first of a tricky set of opponents for the Merengues in the league phase of Europe’s premier competition and will pose a monumental challenge to Jose Mourinho and his men.
After all, the Serie A champions have won each of their three matches this season, with their latest game ending in a 3-2 comeback win over Napoli.
The fact that Real Madrid go into the game with some notable absences makes the task even harder, given as Mourinho will be unable to call upon Arda Guler, Bernardo Silva, and Eduardo Camavinga through suspensions.
Meanwhile, Raul Asencio, Eder Militao, and Rodrygo remain unavailable through injuries, whereas Ferland Mendy has not been registered in the Champions League this season.
There is some positive news, though, with Endrick, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Thiago Pitarch recovering from their physical issues, which could lead them to making their comeback tonight, but not as starters.
With some major decisions to be made with regard to his personnel, here is how Mourinho could set out his Real Madrid lineup tonight at the Bernabeu.
Defence
Thibaut Courtois remains the undisputed starter in goal for Real Madrid and will be key to them getting off the mark in the Champions League this season.
As for the defence, Ibrahima Konate is seemingly ahead of Antonio Rudiger in the centre-back position and start again tonight. He will partner with Dean Huijsen, who has been a standout performer under Mourinho.
On the right side of the defence, Denzel Dumfries should get the nod against his former club, with Trent Alexander-Arnold likely being held back as a possible option in midfield.
World Cup winner Marc Cucurella will continue on the left, ahead of Alvaro Carreras, despite coming off with a minor physical concern against Betis.
Midfield
The midfield department is where things get tricky for Mourinho and Real Madrid, given that Bernardo Silva, Eduardo Camavinga, and Arda Guler are unavailable and Aurelien Tchouameni is not ready to start matches.
Federico Valverde is an obvious starter in one of the two positions, and as for his partner, Mourinho has options like using Trent in midfield or turning to youngster Jorge Cestero.
But the likeliest route that the Portuguese tactician will take is to pull Jude Bellingham into a deeper position for tonight’s game, despite the England superstar’s effectiveness as a No. 10 in the first few matches.
With Bellingham moving into the double pivot and Guler unavailable, it should pave the way for Brahim Diaz to slot in as the central attacking midfielder for Los Blancos.
Attack
This could finally turn out to be the night that Real Madrid’s most expensive signing of the summer, Yan Diomande, makes his first start for the club.
The Ivorian international has so far only featured off the bench, with Mourinho preferring Guler on the right. But with the Turkish star suspended and Brahim operating centrally, the door is open for Diomande to start.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. will retain their respective places in the Real Madrid attacking line and hope to make a mark after failing to do so at the weekend.
