PSG’s Bradley Barcola emerges as the frontrunner to start on the left wing for France at the 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

PSG winger Bradley Barcola (23) has emerged as the frontrunner to feature on France’s left wing for the 2026 World Cup, according to L’Equipe. The Olympique Lyonnais Academy graduate is currently sidelined after sustaining a severe ankle sprain during PSG’s 3-0 away win to Chelsea in the Champions League RO16. Prior to his injury, Barcola was in red-hot form, scoring four goals in as many games for Luis Enrique’s Les Parisiens.

Due to his injury, Barcola had to sit out Les Bleus’ US tour this week. The France squad landed in Boston yesterday as they’ll face Brazil tomorrow and Colombia on Sunday to prepare for the 2026 World Cup. For the tournament, Deschamps is expected to stick with his 4-2-3-1 set-up with Kylian Mbappé poised to lead the line. 

Deschamps has plenty of options for France’s wings, but not it seems as complete as Barcola for the left-handed side. L’Equipe understands that his PSG teammate Désiré Doué may lack experience as well as defensive awareness. As for Hugo Ekitike, the Liverpool striker showed real ability on the wing in an eye-catching cameo against Ukraine, but he solely features as a No. 9 for his club, and he reportedly manages some calf pain.

As for Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram and Tottenham’s Randal Kolo Muani, the former hasn’t featured on the left wing for a while, although his defensive work rate is valued whereas the latter did play as a left-winger for Spurs. Although this is not his natural habitat.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval