Rashford scores in England's 'manita', Koundé delivers for France

The double round of UEFA qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup closed this Tuesday with the participation of the internationals from FC Barcelona, Marcus Rashford and Jules Koundé. The full-back started for France against Iceland (2-1), while the winger came on as a substitute in the thrashing of Serbia by England (0-5).

The good news for Barça, mainly, is that both will return without physical setbacks next Thursday to the Ciutat Esportiva. The team will have a day off on Wednesday, giving the rest of the internationals (Raphinha and Ronald Araujo will be the last to travel) time to join the preparation for the match against Valencia (Sunday 14th at 9:00 p.m.).

For the moment, only Frenkie de Jong suffers a minor injury near his right gluteus, but should have no problems in entering the squad for matchday 4 of LaLiga. Gavi and Alejandro Balde, on the other hand, are pointing to confirmed absences due to problems in the right knee and left thigh, respectively.

Rashford celebrated a goal again with England

On Tuesday, Rashford came on in the 70th minute with England in the thrashing of Serbia. Thomas Tuchel's side secured the victory with goals from Harry Kane and Noni Maueke before the break. Ezri Konsa and Marc Ghéhi, one of the centre-backs in the sights of Barça, extended the lead in the second half against a Serbia unable to even kick at the opposite goal in 90 minutes despite being at home.

In the end, England rounded off the 'manita' with a penalty scored by Rashford. The Azulgrana striker took it with his usual cool blood, leaving goalkeeper Petrovic with no options with a shot adjusted to the left side.

In the 21 minutes he was on the pitch, Marcus completed 18 of 20 passes (90 %), with one chance created and a couple of shots on goal. Although he lost a couple of duels in three attempts, he had a successful dribble and made good use of the minutes given by Tuchel.

On Saturday, the Barça '14' had started in the victory against Andorra (2-0). That day he played 68 minutes, without too much brilliance, but leaving good feelings on his return to the 'Three Lions'. Now, the 27-year-old striker will be looking for his first goal with the Catalan side next Sunday against Valencia.

Koundé delivered in a very tough match for France against Iceland

Jules Koundé, meanwhile, had much more work than expected in France's narrow victory against Iceland (2-1). The visitors took the lead with a goal from Andri Guojohnsen in the 21st minute at the Parc des Princes, but Kylian Mbappé, from the penalty spot, equalised just before the break.

France regained the lead in the 62nd minute with a goal from Bradley Barcola, but suffered in the final stretch as a result of Aurélien Tchouaméni's sending off (straight red card). Koundé started for the second consecutive game, playing a total of 63 minutes.

The Barcelona '23' completed 60 of 66 passes (91 %), with a couple of recoveries and duels lost, but one chance created and one successful dribble. In addition, he avoided committing fouls and once again performed at a high level as a right-back.

Looking ahead to next Sunday, Jules hopes to remain in Hansi Flick's line-up, having regained his starting place against Rayo (1-1). Eric García was the initial right-back against Mallorca (0-3) and Levante (2-3), a bet by Hansi Flick to reward the good moment of the Martorell native and give a 'touch' to the Frenchman about the importance of performing at the top at all times.