Barcola starts over Doué on the left wing for France-Paraguay

Bradley Barcola is expected to start for the second consecutive time on Saturday evening in the 2026 World Cup round of 16 between France and Paraguay (23:00), at the expense of Désiré Doué. According to information gathered on the lineup envisioned by Didier Deschamps, the rotation established since the start of the competition on the left side of the attack has come to an end.

Since the tournament opened, the two PSG wingers had shared the position with two starts each. Barcola initially came off the bench against Senegal before entering in the 80th minute and scoring two minutes after his introduction. Doué was then preferred against Iraq, but his underwhelming performance — he was substituted in the 68th minute — did not convince the French staff.

The Parisian nonetheless started the following match and delivered a much more complete performance, concluding the encounter with a goal set up by Barcola himself. Insufficient to keep his place: it was ultimately his teammate who started in the round of 16 against Sweden (3-0), scoring again.

These two goals and the consistency of his performances appear to have convinced Deschamps’ staff more than Doué’s outings. The former Rennes player should not be absent from the match: he is expected to come on during the game against Paraguay, with the opportunity to impact the encounter from the bench.

France enters this round of 16 with a perfect group stage record — four matches, four victories — and the status of favorite against a Paraguayan side that managed to qualify.