This Monday, the French national team will play Iraq in their second match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at 11 PM CET at Lincoln Financial Field. Five Paris Saint-Germain players, all French, will be involved in the match: Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé. This Saturday, several media outlets, including L’Equipe and Canal+, announced a possible starting lineup with changes compared to the first match against Senegal (3-1). Notably, Barcola will replace Doué.
Mbappé
Barcola – Olise – Dembélé
Rabiot – Koné
Digne – Saliba – Upamecano – Koundé
Maignan
Nothing is impossible; France was far from perfect despite their victory. They even owed their survival in the first half to Senegal’s poor attacking play. There are still improvements to be made, not to mention the rotation that may be necessary for this long World Cup in the heat. Coach Didier Deschamps only made two changes, and rather late ones at that, during the first match.
This time, Barcola could start. His appearance off the bench was promising, and Doué didn’t shine as brightly as he does at PSG. Although the same could be said of Dembélé. The starting lineup for Les Bleus is still uncertain. Even though Lucas Digne and Manu Koné are strong candidates for starting positions. Some are also advocating for Jules Koundé to be dropped, but that’s not a given. We’ll wait for the official team announcement, about an hour before kickoff, for confirmation.
