‘Cheap shots’, Barcola lets rip after Paraguay v France

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·5 juillet 2026

‘Cheap shots’, Barcola lets rip after Paraguay v France

Bradley Barcola, the 23-year-old forward for Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team, spoke in the mixed zone after Saturday night’s 1-0 win over Paraguay in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 (Paraguay/France video highlights). He looked back on a very difficult match to play and on the substitute appearance of Désiré Doué (the 21-year-old PSG midfielder/forward and France international).

Barcola: “I mustn’t let myself get drawn into that kind of game.”

I had never played a match like that, with so many blows, sneaky hits, and pushes in the back. It was tough, but we won. So we’re going to enjoy that. The Paraguayans didn’t get booked, while you got a yellow fairly early on? It was hard because after that, I had to be careful when defending. With all the hits I took, I mustn’t respond, I mustn’t let myself get drawn into that kind of game. In any case, it was a good experience.

Barcola: “I’m really happy for him and very proud of him.”

Doué’s good impact off the bench? He made a very good impact. He brought his technique, and it’s thanks to him that we managed to win that penalty. So I’m really happy for him and very proud of him. I knew he was going to bring energy to the game. And that’s exactly what he did.”

It is perfectly acceptable to approach a match with a defensive mindset and to be aggressive in challenges, but Paraguay really pushed those ideas to the extreme. That was made worse by a referee who did little to punish the fouls, leaving the Paraguayans fairly unconcerned about the possibility of a red card. It was a shame for the spectacle, and it was not far from working.

Vidéos OneFootball

Fortunately, Les Bleus ultimately won a penalty thanks to a dazzling move from Doué. Which reminded everyone—since some still somehow doubted it—that he is a top-level player. It is good news for the France team to have so many weapons. And this match, as Barcola pointed out, will also serve them as experience. They now have that experience behind them and were able to see where they still need to improve to break down a low block.

Now they must focus on Thursday’s quarter-final against Morocco at 10 p.m. Hopefully it will be a slightly more entertaining match.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.