Doué starts on the left, Barcola back on the bench ahead of World Cup

Didier Deschamps unveiled his starting lineup for the Blues’ final warm-up match against Northern Ireland on Monday evening at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, and Bradley Barcola is not part of it. It is Désiré Doué who takes the left flank of the attack, alongside Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappé.

Barcola had a chance to make an impression. Like Lucas Hernandez and Warren Zaïre-Emery, he came on as a substitute in the Ligue des Champions final between PSG and Arsenal on May 30 (1-1, 4-3 on penalties), and all three were used by the manager in the friendly match against Ivory Coast on Thursday in Nantes — a 1-2 defeat. Hernandez came on at the hour mark, Zaïre-Emery at the 78th minute, Barcola just one minute into added time. Not enough to influence the hierarchy.

The situation echoes what Barcola is experiencing at PSG, where Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has taken a starting place from him. In the national team, it is now Doué who is blocking his path, having played the entire Ligue des Champions final alongside William Saliba and Ousmane Dembélé.

Rayan Cherki’s performance against the Ivorians — a goal and several moments of high quality — had reignited the debate over the number 10 position, but Deschamps ultimately retained Olise in that role, despite a more subdued display on the right.

The manager thus lines up what looks like his dream eleven eight days before the World Cup kicks off: Mike Maignan in goal, a four-man defence with William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano in central defence, Jules Koundé and Théo Hernandez on the flanks. Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot form the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1. Lucas Digne and Manu Koné remain on the bench.

France will open its World Cup on June 16 against Senegal at MetLife Stadium, in the New York area.