Barcelona star starts for National team in World Cup, survives injury scare | OneFootball

With the next set of FIFA World Cup 2026 games now underway, several Barcelona players are expected to be in action as well. However, ahead of the latest batch of matches, there were some serious doubts about the fitness and availability of Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

As previously reported, the Barcelona midfielder was dealing with some kind of discomfort and this was even confirmed by former Barça manager and current Dutch National team coach Ronald Koeman. However, the 29-year-old midfield maestro seems to have survived any real kind of injury.

That is because, as officially confirmed, Frenkie de Jong is set to start the upcoming game against Sweden for the Netherlands National team. It would appear that the player has been deemed fit enough to represent his home country in the tournament again, and this is great news for Barça as well.

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

After having failed their initial test against Japan in Group F, the Netherlands will be looking to bounce back in this match against Sweden. De Jong, in particular, will be hoping to make a big impact in this clash to help his country’s objective of securing a place in the knockout stages of the competition.

As for Barcelona, they can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that De Jong’s initial injury scare did not end up being anything to worry about. Still, the decision to start him does appear to be a bit risky, but it would also suggest that the player truly has nothing to worry about as per the advice of the medical team of the Dutch National team.

Unfortunately, not all injury-related updates are positive for Barcelona at the moment. While De Jong may have survived this injury scare and is now set to start for the Netherlands yet again, Brazilian forward Raphinha has a more serious issue going on and the recurring injuries in his right thigh are certainly a severe headache for both his country and his club.