German coach Hansi Flick, Barcelona's technical director, excluded the young Egyptian striker Hamza Abdel Karim from the internal training match organized by the Catalan team at the end of its camp at the English St. George's Park Center today, Monday, in a surprising decision that raised questions about the young goalscorer's future with the team.
The Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" reported that Flick organized an internal training match consisting of three 20-minute periods after canceling the scheduled friendly against Preston North End, which lacked sufficient players to face the Catalan side, and enlisted a professional referee to lend an official character to the experimental match.
Hamza Abdel Karim out of the calculations
In a striking and surprising decision, Egyptian striker Hamza Abdel Karim did not participate in the training match despite his clear brilliance in the previous friendly, where he scored two standout goals.
Flick did not disclose the reasons for excluding Hamza from the training match, sparking widespread questions.
Spanish full-back Alejandro Balde also did not participate in the training match, without any explanation from the coaching staff.
Flick divides the team and tests offensive alternatives
Flick split his players into two balanced teams: the first featured Polish goalkeeper Szczesny, Xavi Espart, Christensen, Gerard Martin, Jofre Torrents, Casado, Marc Bernal, Oriol Goret, Ademi, Ibrahima Tunkara, and Alex Gonzalez.
The opposing side included goalkeeper Iker Rodriguez, Hector Fort, Araujo, Kounde, Busquets, Varinas, Gil Fernandez, Fermin, Rony, Toni Fernandez, and Rafinha.
Waiting on the bench were Aaron Yaakubishvili, Tommy Marquez, Oscar Gistau, Xavi Kluivert, Ibrahim Diarra, and Jesse Bessiou, who made his first appearance with Barcelona's first team in this training match.
Fermin opens the scoring and Flick tests the striker
From the start of the training match, Fermin opened the scoring for his team in one of the first attacks, but Xavi Espart quickly equalized for the opposing side moments later.
Among the most notable events of the experimental match was Flick testing the striker position in Hamza Abdel Karim's absence, selecting Toni Fernandez—who had not featured in the previous friendly against Birmingham—alongside Ibrahima Tunkara to occupy the advanced role, as the German coach sought effective offensive alternatives.
De Jong present in the stands despite injury
Dutch star Frenkie de Jong, sidelined by a right-knee injury and awaiting further medical tests to determine whether he will continue conservative treatment or require surgery, was present in the stands to watch his teammates.
Sports director Deco, executive director Bojan Krkic, and football director Alejandro Echevarria also attended the training match to closely monitor the players ahead of the official season.
Return to Barcelona amid questions over Hamza's future
After the unofficial friendly, Barcelona rested for a few hours at St. George's Park before heading to the airport to return to Barcelona, with the team scheduled to arrive early Monday afternoon.
The key question remains: What are the reasons for excluding Hamza Abdel Karim from the training match despite his clear brilliance? And does this signal new developments regarding his future with the Catalan club?
