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Barcola starts, Tchouaméni returns: Deschamps reveals his XI against Spain

For the World Cup semi-final against Spain on Tuesday, Didier Deschamps starts Bradley Barcola on the left wing in place of Désiré Doué, and recalls Aurélien Tchouaméni, recovered from injury, at the expense of Manu Koné.

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Barcola starts, Tchouaméni returns: Deschamps reveals his XI against Spain
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Bradley Barcola and Aurélien Tchouaméni start for France in the World Cup semi-final against Spain on Tuesday. Didier Deschamps has made two notable changes compared to his recent lineups.

On the left flank, Barcola gets the nod over Désiré Doué. In his press conference, the manager explained that he was adapting his winger choice to exploit the weaknesses of the opposing right-back. Against Pedro Porro, the former Lyon player was preferred. Barcola has been decisive every time he has been used in this tournament: two minutes after coming on against Senegal, he helped Les Bleus take a two-goal lead; he then provided an assist to Doué against Norway, before scoring against Sweden in the round of 16.

The other change concerns midfield. Absent through injury during the round of 16 and quarter-finals, Aurélien Tchouaméni reclaims his starting place at the expense of Manu Koné, who had been very convincing in his starts. Tchouaméni will be paired with Adrien Rabiot in midfield.

Otherwise, no surprises: Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise are expected to complete the attacking sector alongside Barcola.

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