Vissel Kobe vs FC Barcelona: Flick's team debuts on their Asian tour

Published New:26/07/2025 - 19:20h

Updated New:26/07/2025 - 19:20h

Vissel Kobe vs FC Barcelona: Flick tests his Barça 2.0 squad for the 25/26 season

The wait to see FC Barcelona back in action is over. This Sunday, Hansi Flick's team debuts on the Asian tour against Vissel Kobe, at 12:00 Spanish time (19:00 local time) against the leader of the Japanese league.

After the controversy surrounding the match that led to the delay in the flight to Asia and the threat of cancellation due to breaches of the agreed payments, the squad is ready to return to the field, two months after the end of the 24/25 season.

Finally, the ball will roll at the Misaki Park Stadium in front of some 30,000 spectators. Barça will debut their second kit for the 25/26 season, along with the debut of Joan García and Marcus Rashford, although both do not yet have a federative license to play in LaLiga.

📺 Schedule and TV: when and where to watch the match live in Spain and the rest of the world: SEE

How does Flick's Barça arrive to the match against Vissel Kobe?

For Hansi Flick's team, this is the first match since matchday 38 of LaLiga, against Atlétic (0-3). The Barça team closed a brilliant season with a resounding victory in Bilbao, with which they surpassed the barrier of 100 goals in the tournament (102) and ratified their dominance on the local scene.

Barça swept the national treble (League, Cup and Super Cup), surpassing Real Madrid in the head-to-head with a full house in the four Clásicos played, including the finals of the Cup and Super Cup. In addition, the team reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and was just a handful of minutes away from advancing to the decisive stage.

In that sense, the culés return to action with the difficult task of surpassing what was done in the previous year. The squad has been training at the Ciutat Esportiva for a week and a half and is physically ready for the Asian tour, beyond the delay and uncertainty prior to the flight to Japan.

Last 5 matches of FC Barcelona in the 24/25 season

🟢 0-3 against Athletic in Bilbao (matchday 38)
🔴2-3 against Villarreal in Montjuïc (matchday 37)
🟢 0-2 against Espanyol in Cornellà (matchday 36)
🟢 4-3 against Real Madrid in Montjuïc (matchday 35)
🟢 1-2 against Valladolid in Pucela (matchday 34)

Vissel, meanwhile, comes to the friendly against Barcelona with an undefeated streak of nine games in which they have eight wins and one draw, with four wins in a row. Takayuki Yoshida's team is the leader of their league with 46 points after 24 games played, a couple of units ahead of Kashima and Kashiwa (both with 44).

Kobe's last defeat was on May 25, the same day that Barça closed the 24/25 season, falling by the minimum away to Shimizu (3-2). Next Wednesday, the team must face Toyo University for the fourth round of the Emperor's Cup, so it is very likely that most of their starters will only play the first part of the friendly against the culés.

Last 5 matches of Vissel Kobe

🟢1-2 against Okayama in Okayama (matchday 24 of the J. League)
🟢2-1 against Ventforet with Kofu (third round of the Emperor's Cup)
🟢4-0 against Shonan in Kobe (matchday 23 of the J. League)
🟢1-0 against Sanfrecce in Kobe (matchday 22 of the J. League)
🟡0-0 against Avispa in Fukuoka (matchday 21 of the J. League)

Hansi Flick, with the entire squad available to face Vissel

Hansi Flick, meanwhile, is also likely to reserve his gala XI for one half of the match, probably in the initial period. The German has called up 30 players for the Asian tour, including the newcomers Joan García and Marcus Rashford, as well as six players from the youth team.

From the Barça Atlètic squad, the most outstanding appearances are those of Diego Kochen and Roony Bardghji. The goalkeeper seeks to establish himself as the third alternative after García and Wojciech Szczesny, while the striker, also newly arrived from Copenhagen, is trying to convince Flick to reserve him a place in the first team.

If the Swede is not in the coach's plans, he will probably leave on loan. Looking ahead to Sunday, the only confirmed absence is Marc Bernal, who has not yet received medical clearance after the serious knee injury he suffered last August.

📋 Squad list: the list of Barcelona players called up for the match: SEE

Therefore, it is very likely that Barça will take to the Misaki Park Stadium with its gala XI, including Joan García in goal, Koundé, Araujo, Cubarsí and Balde in defense; Pedri and De Jong in midfield; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Raphinha in the front of the area and Lewandowski as '9'.

Rashford, meanwhile, will wait for his opportunity on the bench. Of the fixed discards for the 25/26 season, Flick took Iñaki Peña, currently the only goalkeeper registered for matchday 1 of LaLiga, as well as Andreas Christensen and Héctor Fort, both marked to leave before August 31.