Didier Deschamps reveals reason not to start Barcola in Kylian Mbappé’s absence

Uncertainty reigned in the run-up to France’s second match of Euro 2024, against the Netherlands on Friday. In Les Bleus’ opener, Kylian Mbappé (25) broke his nose in a collision with Austria’s Kevin Danso. The soon-to-be Real Madrid forward was therefore in a race to compete against the Netherlands.

Mbappé received his mask on Thursday and trained normally, however, there was a question of risk and of fitness, with the captain having missed several sessions during the week, notably on Wednesday when he underwent further tests on the nose. Ultimately, Didier Deschamps erred on the side of caution. The question then became: who would replace Mbappé?

Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola was the most obvious, like-for-like replacement. However, Deschamps opted to switch up the system, electing for another midfielder in the form of Aurélien Tchouaméni. Unsurprisingly, France were largely defensively solid against the Netherlands but provided little to no attacking threat, as the match finished 0-0.

Would that have been the case with Barcola in the line-up? Perhaps not. Post-match, in a press conference attended by Get French Football News, Deschamps gave his reasoning for not starting Barcola. “Bradley has qualities but he has never been with us in a match like that. It’s never easy. I hesitated to put him in,” said the France manager.

Barcola, who only made his debut for Les Bleus in the warm-up match against Luxembourg earlier this month, is yet to make an appearance at Euro 2024.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle