Barcelona star wants 2026 World Cup final showdown with Lionel Messi | OneFootball

There are a number of Barcelona players taking part at the 2026 World Cup, with eight of them in the Spain squad. Among them is Pau Cubarsi, who has been a starter for La Roja in his first experience of the tournament at the tender age of 19.

It has been an impressive first two matches for Cubarsi, who has helped Spain to two clean sheets against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. As per Sport, he has reflected on how things have gone so far in North America.

“We have started very well at the back. In attack, in the first game we lacked more circulation. In the second half we improved, with more aggressiveness and intensity, and it was reflected on the pitch and we got a good result. I said it in the build-up: we had to have more grit and intensity. We know that in the first games it is more difficult because you have to adapt and it is more complicated, but in the following ones you have to be more charged.”

Cubarsi on Julian Alvarez: “I know how he plays”

Cubarsi was asked for his reaction to Barcelona’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez, who earlier this week confirmed his intention to leave Atletico Madrid during the upcoming summer transfer window.

Cubarsi also expressed his desire to face Alvarez’s Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final, where he would also come face-to-face with his idol, Lionel Messi.

“It would be a dream, especially because it would mean that I am in a World Cup final. It would be a chance to win it. If it was against Messi, it would really be a dream since I was a child. My whole family are Barça fans, and since I was little he has always been our idol and reference. I really want to face him.”