Désiré Doué scored his first professional goal with a header in the 90+4e minute against Norvège at the World Cup. The finish came after a match in which the 21-year-old looked more secure on the left, yet the selection picture around France’s left side still points toward Bradley Barcola.
Against Norvège, Doué attempted four shots, won 13 duels, touched three balls in the opponent’s box and completed 82% of his passes. Those numbers were a sharp lift from his 6,3 Flashscore rating against Sénégal and the quiet outing against Irak, when he came on in the 68e minute and did not attempt a shot.
Désiré Doué in Boston
Media in Boston indicated after the Norvège match that Bradley Barcola would take the left side against Suède. That leaves Doué with a clear problem to solve: he has just delivered his best World Cup showing, but the pecking order may still be moving against him.
Barcola’s own case is stronger than a single bench role. He scored in the 82e minute after coming off the bench against Sénégal, while Doué’s tournament has swung between a low 6,3 and a late goal that finally matched his activity.
France XI and the left side
France’s attack has enough established names that the left side remains the loose piece. Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise are described as nearly undroppable, which makes every minute on the flank more valuable for Doué and more fragile for anyone trying to displace him.
The practical question now is whether France keeps Doué in the XI after the Norvège finish or returns to Barcola on the left against Suède. Doué has shown he can affect a match late; the next lineup will show whether that was enough to change Didier Deschamps’s view.
