The young Egyptian striker Hamza Abdel Karim may make his first official appearance for Barcelona tomorrow against Elche in the second round of the Spanish La Liga.
Hamza Abdel Karim was previously called up to join Barcelona's first-team pre-season training camp for the new season, before coach Flick entrusted him to lead the attacking line in friendly matches.
Hamza Abdel Karim featured as a starter in all of Barcelona's friendly matches. The team played six games, during which Hamza scored four goals: a brace against Birmingham City, one goal against Basel, and another against Al Ahly in the Joan Gamper Trophy.
The former Al Ahly striker aims to mark his official debut with Barcelona by scoring his first goal for the club, which would provide a strong boost to continue with the first team under Hans Flick, especially as negotiations to sign Julian Alvarez, Atletico Madrid's striker, remain complicated.
Barcelona still seeks to finalize signing a new dedicated number "9" striker before the transfer window closes, filling the void left by Polish star Robert Lewandowski and Spanish forward Ferran Torres, who departed to Chicago Fire in the USA and Paris Saint-Germain in France respectively.
Should Hamza Abdel Karim score against Elche, he will enter Barcelona's history books among the 30 youngest players ever to score for the club, and will also rank among the 80 youngest players to represent the club in any official match since its foundation.
If he scores against Elche, Hamza Abdel Karim will occupy the 30th position among the youngest players in Barcelona's history to net a goal for the first team, at the age of 18 years, 7 months, and 22 days.
Lamine Yamal tops the list of youngest scorers for Barcelona, having netted a goal at just 16 years, 2 months, and 25 days old during a 2-2 draw against Granada in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian striker would rank 74th among the youngest players ever to represent Barcelona's first team throughout history, a list headed by Lamine Yamal, who made his debut at 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days old during a 4-0 victory over Real Betis in 2023.
Hamza Abdel Karim made his debut with Barcelona's Under-19 squad against Huesca on March 8th last year, remaining with that team for 78 days until their Champions Cup loss to Real Madrid on May 24, 2026, scoring six goals throughout his appearances.
Within just one month from playing his first pre-season friendly for Barcelona after being called up to train with the first team against Europa (which ended in a 4-1 win for Barca on July 24) until the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Al Ahly, the Egyptian successfully convinced Hans Flick of his abilities to remain under his leadership. This came after several academy players were excluded, most recently a trio omitted from final training sessions before the Elche match: Jessey Bicio, who will miss the Elche game due to administrative issues hindering his La Liga registration related to his entry visa; and Orien Gorin and Ebrima Tonkara, who will return to Barcelona Atlètic.
Should Hamza Abdel Karim be called up for Barcelona's match against Elche, the Egyptian will have completed only 30 days since joining the Blaugrana's first official squad list for this season.
