Despite the surprising absences of Frenkie de Jong and Pau Cubarsi, eleven FC Barcelona players participated in UEFA EURO 2024. De Jong failed to regain fitness in time for the competition, while Spain’s coach opted not to call up Cubarsi, favoring more experienced defenders instead.
Now, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, with two of the quarter-final ties already having been played, there are five Barcelona players still playing in the competition, who have already advanced to the semi-final stage of the competition, i.e., Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, and Jules Kounde.
Other star players like Ilkay Gundogan, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Joao Cancelo, Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski, and Andreas Christensen have already been eliminated from the competition.
Among the players still in the competition, Lamine Yamal has been the most impressive. He currently leads the assists chart of UEFA EURO 2024, having provided a crucial pass to Dani Olmo to give his side the lead against Germany last night. Yamal is also expected to start in the semi-final against France.
Pedri had been another key starter for Spain, but the injury he suffered from a Toni Kroos tackle in the match against Germany means he will not be able to play in the upcoming semi-final against France and can remain on the sidelines for up to a month and a half.
Ferran Torres has been coming off the bench for his national side, but that has not kept him from getting on the scoresheet as he scored the sole goal against Albania in the group stage. He helped Dani Carvajal in defence after replacing Yamal last night, and can also come from the bench against France.
Fermin Lopez has had only minimal participation in the competition and has played only against Albania up to now. However, he can get significant minutes against France because of the several absences that Spain will have to cope with.
Lastly, Jules Kounde, who has been an undisputed starter at the right-back position for France, is also having a very good tournament. He played the full 120 minutes against Portugal last night and successfully converted his penalty to get his side through to the semi-finals.