Overview
Barcelona has had an impressive 2024-2025 season under the leadership of coach Hansi Flick. They won three domestic titles including La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. However, they disappointed in the Champions League when they lost to Inter Milan in the semi-finals.
Entering the 2025-2026 season, the Catalan giants continue to be considered the leading candidate for the La Liga championship, despite strong competition from Real Madrid.
In the summer transfer window of 2025, Barcelona added three new names to the squad including Joan Garcia, Roony Bardghji and Marcus Rashford - all three of whom are on the Asian tour squad.
Barcelona will set foot in Seoul and Daegu in the pre-season tour, before returning to Spain to participate in the Joan Gamper Cup match against Como. They will then officially start their La Liga campaign with a match against Mallorca on August 16.
Barca president Joan Laporta confirmed that he will not have any more contracts this summer. The team only prioritizes recruiting one goalkeeper and one winger and both positions have been filled. However, he also revealed that there will be some players who will have to say goodbye to the team in the coming weeks.
The 2025-2026 season is expected to be very exciting for Barcelona, as they aim to conquer the Champions League. Therefore, the pre-season tour is considered an extremely important stepping stone in the preparation for the new campaign.
Meanwhile, Vissel Kobe played their last match on July 20, winning 2-1 against Fagiano in the J1 League and currently leading the rankings with 46 points after 24 matches.
Coach Takayuki Yoshida's team is in great form, having won all 4 recent matches in all competitions, and is also unbeaten since the 2-3 loss to Shimizu at the end of May.
Vissel Kobe is the J1 League champion for two consecutive seasons, lifting the title in 2023 and 2024. They are currently a strong candidate for the third consecutive championship this year, although the campaign is still very long ahead.
After the match with Barcelona, the Japanese champions will return to compete on August 6 against Toyo University in the Emperor Cup, before continuing the J1 League campaign with the match against Machida on August 10.
Personnel situation
Vissel Kobe is expected to make the most of the squad depth in this match, with the ability to use two different squads for each half.
Taisei Miyashiro has been in impressive scoring form this season, with 13 goals in all competitions. The 25-year-old player is likely to continue to play a key role in the attack.
On the other side of the front line, Barcelona could introduce new players in this match. Rashford and Garcia are both ready to debut, similar to Bardghji.
Expected lineup:
Vissel Kobe: Maekawa, Sakai, Yamakawa, Thuler, Nagato, ideguchi, Ogihara, Miyashiro, Erik, Sasaki, Hirose.
Barcelona: J. Garcia, Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde, De Jong, Pedri, Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha, Lewandowski.
The match between Vissel Kobe and Barcelona takes place at 5:00 p.m. on July 27 (Vietnam time).
