Teen sensation Lamine Yamal and seasoned veteran Robert Lewandowski will start for FC Barcelona in their preseason match in Seoul on Thursday.
Head coach Hans Flick lived up to his word after declaring Wednesday that Yamal, the Spanish club's new No. 10, will play against FC Seoul of the K League 1 at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the South Korean capital.
Yamal is widely regarded as the next big thing in international football at age 18. He netted 18 goals in 55 matches in all competitions last season, as Barca accomplished a domestic treble with the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey title and the Spanish Super Cup title. Yamal was recently awarded No. 10, an iconic numeral previously won by club legend Lionel Messi.
Lewandowski showed no signs of slowing down last season at age 36, leading his club with 27 goals in league play.
The star-studded starting lineup will also include Brazilian star Raphinha, considered a serious contender for the Ballon d'Or award as the world's top player, and Spanish midfielder Pedri, who led Barca with 35 starts in La Liga last season. Veteran Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo will serve as captain at the start.
Former Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, recently loaned to Barcelona, will start the match on the bench.
Jesse Lingard, Rashford's ex-Man United teammate currently with FC Seoul, will start for the K League 1 club as captain.
He will be joined by other regulars, such as Jordanian defender Yazan Al-Arab, veteran left back Kim Jin-su and national team attacker Moon Seon-min.
Defender Kim Ju-sung was kept off the squad list, hours after FC Seoul had announced he was joining Sanfrecce Hiroshima of the top Japanese league, J1 League.
Kim, 24, made his K League debut with FC Seoul in 2019. Save for a two-year stint with the military club Gimcheon Sangmu FC, Kim has spent his entire club career with FC Seoul.
This is the first of two preseason matches for FC Barcelona in South Korea during their visit here in 15 years.
After this match, FC Barcelona will travel southeast to take on Daegu FC, another K League 1 club, at Daegu Stadium in Daegu at 8 p.m. Monday. (Yonhap)
