Barcelona team, led by coach Hans Flick, continues its friendly preparations as part of the preparations for the upcoming new season 2026/27, having played two friendly matches so far, and there is still more.
Barcelona played against Europa and won four goals to one, in the first appearance of the Egyptian professional Hamza Abdel Karim with Hans Flick's squad.
Hamza Abdel Karim also participated in Barcelona's defeat to Birmingham City on penalties, where he scored two goals (the original time of the match ended in a 2-2 draw).
Barcelona were scheduled to play a closed-door friendly tomorrow against Preston North End at the end of their camp in England, before it was decided to cancel it (to read the details from here).
On the other hand, Barcelona are heading to Italy where they will play two friendlies against Nottingham Forest and Udinese next Saturday, at 10 and 11 o'clock respectively.
Many are wondering how Barcelona can play two matches in one day, with only a one-hour time difference between the two matches, as it turned out there is an official explanation for that.
According to Barcelona's website, the Blaugrana will participate in the first edition of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup on the coming Saturday, at the Bluenergy Stadium in the Italian city of Udine.
Barcelona will compete with Udinese and Nottingham Forest in a triangular tournament, which comes as part of a promotional initiative led by the Friuli Venezia Giulia region to enhance its international standing through sports.
The tournament will be held in a three-team format, with three matches each lasting 45 minutes as follows:
Udinese vs Nottingham Forest: 9 PM Cairo and Saudi time.
Barcelona vs Nottingham Forest: 10 PM Cairo and Saudi time.
Udinese vs Barcelona: 11 PM Cairo and Saudi time.
The team gets 3 points for a win in regular time, 2 points for a win on penalties (which are resorted to in case of a draw), 1 point for a loss, and the winner of the tournament is the one who can accumulate the largest number of points possible.
