France has started Bradley Barcola instead of his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Desire Doue on the left side of the attack for the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal against Spain on Tuesday.
Manager Didier Deschamps has chosen Barcola, 23, who is more of a dribbler on the left flank and has already scored twice in the competition. He will also need to contribute defensively to help out Lucas Digne restrict Lamine Yamal.
Champions League winner Barcola will complement France’s first-choice attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.
France enters this clash after a 2-0 win over Morocco in the quarterfinals, with Mbappe and Olise finding the net in that match.
Meanwhile, Spain advanced to the last four with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Belgium. It was Charles de Ketelaere who cancelled out Fabian Ruiz’s goal in the first half to bring the Belgians back in the contest. However, Mikel Merino’s late goal sealed the deal for La Roja.
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Published on Jul 14, 2026