Cucurella says Madrid need time under Mourinho

Marc Cucurella has cautioned against comparing Real Madrid’s early season with Spain’s recent run of success, saying the club is still adapting to José Mourinho’s return as coach.

Madrid are fourth in LaLiga, six points behind leaders Barcelona after seven games. Cucurella said it was too early to draw conclusions, describing the team’s situation as a process that should be assessed at the end of the season.

“We started with a new coach. The beginning may not have been what we expected, but this is a process, and we’ll have to assess everything at the end of the season.”

Spain face Czechia with injury concerns

Spain, by contrast, are on a strong run under Luis de la Fuente and head into Saturday’s Nations League trip to Czechia top of Group A3. They beat England 3-2 and Croatia 4-1 in their previous matches.

Ferran Torres and Nico Williams are unavailable through injury, while Alejandro Grimaldo and Eric Garcia have also withdrawn from the squad. De la Fuente said the demanding schedule made recovery difficult and stressed that player health remained the priority.

“The drawback of this format is that it’s difficult to recover. We always prioritise the players’ health and want everyone to be in perfect condition. Because there’s no time to recover.”