Vissel Kobe will welcome Barcelona to Japan on Sunday, 27 July, for the Catalans’ first pre-season match of the summer.
Hansi Flick’s side have had a relatively long summer break after not playing in the Club World Cup, but that should mean they are now raring to go.
Vissel Kobe are having a brilliant season in the J League, and are leading the way with 14 games left to play.
Friendly matches between these two teams are becoming a regular occurrence, and this will be the third H2H meeting in the last six years. Both previous matches have gone the way of Barcelona, with the Catalans winning 2-0 in 2019 and 2-0 again in 2023. Vissel Kobe will be hoping that it is third time lucky this time around.
Marcus Rashford has been eyeing a move to Barcelona ever since it became clear that he was no longer going to be part of the furniture at Manchester United.
Last week, the England international got his wish when the two clubs agreed to a loan move and Rashford has wasted no time getting stuck into training with his new teammates.
Rashford has clearly impressed Hansi Flick as the German has included him in the travelling party to Japan, which suggests the 27-year-old will make his debut against Vissel Kobe on Sunday.
The arrival of Rashford raises question marks around how Flick is going to fit Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Rashford into the same starting XI. Raphinha currently plays in Rashford’s preferred position on the left wing, but the Brazilian is almost considered undroppable after a stellar season in 2024/25.
The reality is that the most likely player to make way for the new loanee is Robert Lewandowski. At the age of 36, the Pole isn’t getting any younger and a front three of Rashford, Raphinha, and Yamal would give Flick a more fluid attacking line.
Predicted line-ups
Vissel Kobe’s manager, Takayuki Yoshida, will be keen to give as many players as possible a run-out against Barcelona on Sunday, given that the majority of his squad will have dreamt about playing against a team of such stature. Barcelona have left Marc ter Stegen at home as he prepares for back surgery.
Vissel Kobe: Maekawa – Sakai, Yamakawa, Thuler, Nagato – Ogihara, Miyashir, Ideguchi – Erik, Sasaki, Hirose
Barcelona: Garcia – Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde – Pedri, De Jong – Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha – Rashford
