Kounde, first from Barça into quarter finals
The Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada has now begun, and one Barça player has already secured a place in the quarter-finals. It was Jules Koundé with the French national team. Les Bleus beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia thanks to a solitary goal from Kylian Mbappé from the penalty spot.
Ever present under Deschamps
Koundé started and played the full ninety minutes for his national team. In fact, he has been in the starting line-up in all five of France's matches so far. He has become an indispensable figure in Didier Deschamps' plans at right-back.
The French side already know who their opponents will be in the quarter-finals. Les Bleus will take on Morocco next Thursday, 9 July, at 10pm in Boston. It will be a repeat of the semi-finals of the last World Cup, when the Europeans and Africans also faced each other. On that occasion, France came out on top with a 2-0 victory.
The first of... many?
Koundé has therefore become the first Barça player to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup. The remaining national teams with Barça representation (Brazil, England, Spain and Egypt) will play their respective matches between Sunday, 5 July and Tuesday, 7 July.
As many as 12 Barça players are still involved in the 2026 World Cup.