France reaches World Cup 2026 semifinals, Barcelona delays season opener

Barcelona's opening match in La Liga 2026/27 will be postponed due to France's qualification for the World Cup 2026 semifinals, as defender Jules Kounde remains with the French national team in the United States.

Barcelona's La Liga start delayed by one week due to French national team

According to Mundo Deportivo, the postponement of Barcelona's debut match is triggered by a regulation previously announced by La Liga President Javier Tebas. Under the agreement between La Liga and the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), any club with a player participating in the World Cup semifinals is allowed to delay its first match of the season to ensure adequate rest and preparation time before returning to play.

Javier Tebas has stated that players must have at least three weeks of rest after their final World Cup match, plus an additional three weeks of training with their club before the new season begins.

Barcelona is one of the clubs most affected by the 2026 World Cup, as before the quarterfinals, as many as 10 players were representing three teams vying for a spot in the semifinals. Among them, Spain contributed Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Gavi, Eric Garcia, and Joan Garcia, while Jules Kounde played for France and Anthony Gordon represented England.

According to the original schedule, Hansi Flick's team was set to host Bilbao at Camp Nou in the opening round of La Liga on the weekend of August 15-16. However, this match will be rescheduled to a different date. President Tebas indicated that the game will likely be placed between rounds 2 and 3 of La Liga, although the organizers have not yet released the official fixture list.

With this adjustment, Barcelona is likely to begin its 2026/27 La Liga campaign with an away match against Elche in round 2, expected to take place on August 22 or 23.