The 23rd World Cup has now come to a close. Thirty-eight days of competition and 104 matches have led us to the final in which Spain, with eight Barça players in its squad, added a second star to their shirt thanks to an extra time win over Argentina. It was a tournament marked by a strong blaugrana presence from start to finish.

16 call-ups, eight national teams

In the days leading up to the World Cup, the 48 participating nations announced their final squads. A total of 16 FC Barcelona players were called up by their respective national teams:

  • Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsí, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal for Spain
  • Raphinha for Brazil
  • Jules Koundé for France
  • Frenkie de Jong for the Netherlands
  • Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford for England
  • Ronald Araujo for Uruguay
  • João Cancelo for Portugal
  • Hamza Abdelkarim for Egypt

15 out of 16 reached the knockout stage

Of the 16 Barça players who took part in the World Cup, only Ronald Araujo failed to advance beyond the group stage. Uruguay finished third in their group with two points and did not qualify for the Round of 32. The other 15 Barça players all reached the knockout rounds.

Double record in the semi-finals

A remarkable 10 Barça players reached the semi-finals of the World Cup: Joan Garcia, Cubarsí, Eric Garcia, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, Koundé, and Anthony Gordon.

FC Barcelona was the club with the highest representation in the semi-finals, ahead of Atlético de Madrid (9) and Arsenal (8). In addition, this was the World Cup edition with the highest number of Barça players in the semi-finals, surpassing the previous record of eight set in 2010.

Gordon's goal in the semi-finals

Barça's latest signing, Anthony Gordon, played a key role in England manager Thomas Tuchel's plans. The former Newcastle player scored a crucial goal against Argentina in the semi-final. Unfortunately for Gordon, it was not enough to secure a place in the final, as Argentina completed a comeback in the closing stages of the match.

Ferran's goal in the final

The final between Spain and Argentina remained goalless in normal time. In fact, it took 106 minutes for the breakthrough to arrive. Ferran Torres struck with his left foot after a headed layoff from Nico Williams, beating Emiliano Martínez and winning the trophy for Spain. Sixteen years later, the hero of the Spanish national team was once again a Barça player. In South Africa it was Andrés Iniesta; in the United States, it was Ferran Torres.

Eight Barça players crowned world champions

Of the 10 Barça players who reached the semi-finals, only those representing Spain made it to the final. Gordon's England and Koundé's France were defeated by Argentina and Spain respectively. As a result, eight FC Barcelona players were crowned world champions, matching the Club's record set at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Nine La Masia graduates in the final

There is no doubt that this was a very Barça-oriented World Cup. Proof of this was the presence of nine La Masia graduates in the final: Leo Messi, Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pau Cubarsí, Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Alejandro Grimaldo, Marc Cucurella, and Víctor Muñoz.

Messi

One of those players is a true Barça legend and widely regarded as the greatest footballer in history: Leo Messi. At the age of 39, the former Barça captain led Argentina to yet another World Cup final, their third in the last four editions of the tournament. Although he was unable to retain the title, the Argentine produced outstanding performances match after match.
 
 

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