Bradley Barcola, the 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain and French national team striker, spoke to M6 after the 3-1 victory against Senegal on Tuesday night in the first match of the 2026 World Cup.
Barcola: “I was told that if I had a chance, I had to take it.”
An important appearance and a nice goal?
We knew it. From the beginning, the coach talked to us a lot about it, about the importance of the substitutes. I knew that when I came on, there would be a lot of space; I could see it when I was warming up. It’s true that, on the bench, we were talking about chances.
I can’t remember which player had a chance, and he should have chipped it. On the bench, I was told that if I had a chance, I had to take it, and it would go in. I did it, it went in, and I’m happy.
Barcola: “I’m happy for him, it’s good for the team.”
Mbappé scored twice, are the players happy for him?
Yes, we’re very happy for him, he’s our captain. He knows what he has to do. He encourages us a lot. Scoring this brace will encourage us even more, to give our all. I’m happy for him, it’s good for the team, it’s fantastic.
