Jamie Carragher left with egg on face after Bukayo Saka and England prediction

Marc Cucurella's showing against Bukayo Saka proved Jamie Carragher wrong after the Liverpool icon believed the Chelsea defender would crumble against the England star .

The Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by Spain in Sunday's Euro 2024 final as Cucurella and co clinched their fourth European Championship crown. Nico Williams opened the scoring for La Roja, before Cole Palmer's late equalizer looked like it had taken the game to extra-time.

But Cucurella's inch-perfect cross allowed Mikel Oyarzabal to poke the ball past Jordan Pickford in the final minutes of the match to clinch Euro 2024 glory for Spain. The Chelsea star enjoyed a stellar tournament, much to the surprise of some, in what was his first major tournament representing his nation.

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His showing against England, particularly in his match-up against Arsenal star Saka forced Carragher to eat his words. Before the game, the Sky Sports pundit was confident that Saka wouldn't face any issues against the left-back, given the struggles Cucurella has had in the past against him.

He said: "I think Saka can have [Cucurella] on toast, don't worry about that. I've seen that so often in the Premier League . We've seen it before, he gives him huge problems. And not just Cucurella he's given almost every left-back huge problems in this tournament and he's probably been England's best performer".

The 25-year-old did well to prove Carragher wrong as well as his colleague Gary Neville , who shared in his suspicions of Cucurella's ability to remain a reliable performer throughout the Euros.

What did you make of Cucurella's performances at Euro 2024? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Manchester United legend went as far to claim that the inclusion of the defender in Spain's starting line-up would be the sole reason they miss out on Euro 2024 triumph. "The Spanish defence, it's got a lot of experience now but there's something just missing from Spain that makes you feel like they're going to go all the way," said Neville. He added: "I have to say that him being at left back is a good example of why we think that."

Despite his critics, Cucurella had the last laugh as he took to social media after the victory and on a picture of Neville's comments, the Spaniard sarcastically thanked the former England captain by responding: "We went all the way Gary. Thanks for your support."

Liverpool.com says: "Carragher and Neville's Cucurella comments really came back to bite them. The Chelsea left-back was impervious throughout Spain's Euro 2024 campaign, and displayed just how much of a threat he can be against England.

"Had it not been for Cucurella bombing forward, Nico Williams would not have been able to effect the game as much when he moved inside. Cucurella provided width to Spain's attacks and delivered the cross that saw Oyarzabal net the winner."