Jules Koundé, key absence with France for the 'semis' of the Nations League against Spain

FC Barcelona has received good news related to Jules Koundé. The right-back, out since May 6 due to an injury to the biceps femoris muscle of his left thigh, will not travel with France to play the 'final four' of the UEFA Nations League in the first week of June in Germany. 'Les bleus' will face Spain in the 'semis', while the other key will be played by Germany and Portugal.

French coach Didier Deschamps left the Barça defender, a key piece in his scheme, out of his list of 25 called-up players. Koundé surpassed 100 consecutive games playing with his club and national team this 2025, until he was injured in the first leg of the 'semis' of the Champions League against Inter Milan.

In total, there were 86 games with Barça and 18 with France between November 2023 and May of this year that Jules played without stopping, mostly as a starter. In principle, it was expected that the 26-year-old defender would be out for around two weeks, but he will finally not play again with the Azulgrana team until the pre-season.

Deschamps respects Barça's decision to give Koundé rest until the summer

Jules Koundé and Didier Deschamps during a training session with France

And, with the League title secured since last week and without options to play the Champions League final, the Culé coaching staff has preferred to give the Frenchman rest, who until his injury was the player with the most minutes in the squad. Koundé closed the 24/25 season with 53 appearances (4,423 minutes) in which he added 4 goals and 8 assists.

In that sense, Deschamps has agreed with Hansi Flick's opinion, avoiding rushing Jules' reappearance after a month out of action. In principle, it is likely that the coach will opt for Malo Gusto (Chelsea) as right-back in the semi-final against Spain.

Both teams faced each other in the same instance in the last European Championship, with a victory for La Roja (2-1) in a stellar night for Lamine Yamal, author of the great goal that meant the partial tie. When referring to the talent of the Azulgrana winger, Deschamps assured that, for the moment, "no team has found the formula to stop the youth player", so his plan aims to "limit his influence" on the field.

France's squad for the 'final four' of the Nations League

In the list of 25 called up by Deschamps, the main new additions are Clément Lenglet and Rayan Cherki. The centre-back closed a good season with Atlético de Madrid and could be a starter against the national team, while the Lyon winger earned his place on the list after scoring 12 goals and providing 20 assists in 46 games with his club.

Also noteworthy is the return of Kylian Mbappé, absent in the last matches due to physical problems, as well as the former Barça defender, Lucas Digne, currently with a good present at Aston Villa.

• Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Rennes).
• Defenders: Loic Badé (Sevilla), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernández, Theo Hernández (AC Milan), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Clément Lenglet (Atlético de Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan).
• Midfielders: Mattéo Guendouzi (Lazio), Manu Koné (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG).
• Forwards: Bradley Barcola (PSG), Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Désiré Doué (PSG), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Randal Kolo Muani (Juventus), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Rayan Cherki (Lyon), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).
• Possible France XI against Spain: Maignan; Malo Gusto, Konaté, Lenglet, Theo; Tchouaméni, Guendouzi, Zaïre-Emery; Olise, Dembélé and Mbappé.