France winger Bradley Barcola has come in for some criticism for his “quiet” performance in the World Cup clash with Paraguay.
The 23-year-old didn’t see a lot of the ball and didn’t do enough to influence things when he did have it, and it eventually led to him being subbed off inside the hour-mark for Desire Doue, who instantly looked a lot better.
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Liverpool are understood to have made Barcola a top target this summer, with the Reds big admirers of his, while he could be available as his club Paris Saint-Germain look to be in a good position to sign Yan Diomande.
Fabrizio Romano has recently linked Barcola with both Liverpool and Arsenal, casting some doubt over his PSG future…
Liverpool are very keen and Arsenal have his name on list as alternative to top target Rogers.
PSG could let him go but only in case of big proposal.
? https://t.co/cBTE2ezZfB pic.twitter.com/L4bfX7rtZm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 1, 2026
? Bradley Barcola’s future, not decided yet as new deal talks have been on stand-by for one year.
Liverpool are very keen and Arsenal have his name on list as alternative to top target Rogers.
PSG could let him go but only in case of big proposal.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 1, 2026
Fans of LFC and AFC will now surely be keeping an eye on how Barcola performs at this World Cup, and it’s fair to say he didn’t really do enough to impress against Paraguay.
Bradley Barcola criticised for “quiet” performance
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock was one pundit to point the finger at Barcola for a below-par display.
As quoted by BBC Sport, Warnock said: “Barcola needs to get more involved in the game. He was quiet in the first half and really hasn’t had too much of an effect.”
Meanwhile, see below as the Telegraph’s Sam Dean also noticed that Barcola had an underwhelming first half, getting only 23 touches…
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) July 4, 2026
Very lopsided performance by France. Their right-sided players have seen loads of the ball (Dembele has had 48 touches, Kounde has had 51) and the left flank has done nothing. Barcola has been comparatively very quiet, with only 23 touches.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) July 4, 2026
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Barcola hasn’t always been a regular for PSG but he’s managed to keep his France place so far, though he’ll clearly have to improve if he is to stay in Didier Deschamps’ starting line up.
Based on this evening’s game, Barcola can still improve a lot and might not be quite the answer that Liverpool and Arsenal are looking for in attack.
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