#jules-kounde

#jules-kounde

The 26-year-old Barcelona defender, along with Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga, did not work with the other 22 members of the squad called up by Deschamps. Instead, after signing autographs for the many supporters who attended the open session, Kounde and Camavinga left their teammates to complete individual running exercises with France's fitness coach, Cyril Moine. For now, the participation of the Barcelona defender and the Real Madrid midfielder in Thursday's match at the Parc des Princes does not appear to be in doubt.

As such, he has played nine consecutive matches, completing the full 90 minutes in eight of them, and did not take part in group training on Friday. The accumulation of minutes is beginning to take its toll, and Flick may decide it's finally time to give the 25-year-old a breather. Another factor behind Kounde's recent dip in sharpness is Lamine Yamal's fitness issues.

There is no hiding from the truth that Barcelona's defence has been one of the team's biggest concerns this season, and while much of the attention has centred around the departure of Inigo Martinez, not enough has been said about the worrying decline in form of Jules Kounde. Once a defensive rock under Hansi Flick, the Frenchman now looks a shadow of the player who was once seen as indispensable in Barça's backline.

I haven't seen the goal again, but I have the feeling I can do a lot better. We get pierced a bit easily, and then I have a bad reflex to go up, to take that step forward when I should have simply stepped back. Let's say that's a bit like how we defend at club level, and unfortunately, it's a bad reflex that costs dearly because we concede a goal, even though the action goes forward, but the result is that I could have done better on that goal.