MU Shorts
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.
Real Madrid will lock horns with Elche CF away at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight in Matchday 6 of the 2026/27 La Liga season.
The Merengues are currently second in the league standings with four wins and one defeat from five games, three points behind Barcelona, who are yet to drop a single point this term, and have looked unstoppable.
Given the situation, Real Madrid know there is no room for slip-up, even though it is still very early in the season.
Jose Mourinho’s men have not been particularly convincing away from home this term, having just about managed to beat RCD Espanyol in their opening match before falling to their only defeat of the campaign against Real Betis.
The hope will be to address that issue and put in a strong performance while collecting all three points heading into the derby against Atletico Madrid later in the week.
Going into the match, Los Blancos have not received any new fitness boosts, with Eder Militao, Rodrygo Goes, and Ferland Mendy still unavailable.
However, there will likely be some rotations with an eye on the derby, and here’s how Mourinho could set his team up against Elche tonight.
Defence
Trent Alexander-Arnold has had to share minutes with summer signing Denzel Dumfries so far this season, but will be hoping to make the right-back spot his own with a convincing performance tonight against Elche.
Meanwhile, on the left, Alvaro Carreras is expected to retain his place after a brilliant display at the weekend against Rayo Vallecano, which would also allow Marc Cucurella to be protected before the derby.
At centre-back, Dean Huijsen is expected to return to the starting lineup, at the expense of Antonio Rudiger, and partner with Ibrahima Konate.
Thibaut Courtois is the undisputed starter in goal for Real Madrid and will continue his search for a second clean sheet this season.
Midfield
While Aurelien Tchouameni has returned from his injury layoff, he is unlikely to be rushed back by Mourinho. As such, the Frenchman is likely to feature off the bench once again tonight at Elche.
Instead, the double pivot pairing of Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva is expected to take the field once again, with Eduardo Camavinga also having to settle for a spot among the substitutes.
Jude Bellingham has started all of Real Madrid’s matches so far this season and given his form and importance to the team, Mourinho will not rotate him tonight against Elche.
Attack
Yan Diomande made his first start at Real Madrid last weekend against Rayo Vallecano but failed to make the best impression.
Meanwhile, Arda Guler was once again brilliant for Los Blancos after coming on as a substitute, making a strong case for him to be reinstated to the starting XI on the right wing.
As for the left side of the attack, Vinicius Jr. will retain his place, hoping to find his best form after a rather slow start to the campaign.
Kylian Mbappe, who has now scored six goals in La Liga this season, will spearhead the attack, hoping to end his run of seven months without scoring away from home in the league.
