James Beadle saved twice in a shootout as Birmingham City beat Barcelona following a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes in a pre-season friendly at St Andrews. Egypt newcomer Hamza Abdelkarim scored twice for Barca in their first pre-season friendly of the 2026/27 season at the second-tier club Birmingham City on Friday, the 18-year-old initially equalising by converting a 41st-minute penalty after being fouled by Christoph Klarer.Birmingham had taken the lead in the 31st minute when August Priske headed in Alex Cochranes cross . but Abdelkarim turned the scoreline around 15 minutes after half-time, sweeping in from close range when Beadle spilled Roony Bardghjis long-range effort.Barcelonas second goal was a deserved one on the balance of play and Birmingham, who are co-owned by NFL icon Tom Brady, responded admirably to regain control and equalise through new �6 million signing Jhon Solis finish from Klarers header.Cochrane went closest to a winner by arrowing a drive against the top of the crossbar before Jack Robinson cleared Alex Gonzalezs shot off the line during the closing stages.Beadle made a superb double save during added time, springing to either side of his line to repel strikes by the impressive Roony Bardghji and Gonzalez.More to followTable of ContentsBirmingham City vs Barcelona: Whats next for Barca?Birmingham team vs BarcelonaBarcelona team vs Birmingham CityBirmingham City vs Barcelona statsBirmingham City vs Barcelona: Whats next for Barca?Barca, who face a club in Birminghams division in Preston North End behind closed doors on Monday, began their pre-season schedule without their World Cup stars at a sold-out St Andrews.That meant Spain players and newly-crowned world champions Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Dani Olmo and Pedri were absent.Former Birmingham prodigy Jude Bellingham, who now plays for Real Madrid, was at St Andrews to watch the action.Birmingham team vs BarcelonaMidfielder Solis, who joined Birmingham permanently from Girona in June, started.Centre-back Dael Fry arrived from Middlesbrough a month earlier and was on the bench. Beadle has again joined on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion for the campaign.Argentinian striker Luis Vazquez signed from Anderlecht this week, as did Denmark-born former USA international full-back Kristoffer Lund from Palermo. Vazquez was on the bench.Birmingham starting XI: James Beadle, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Phil Neumann, Christoph Klarer, Alex Cochrane, Tomoki Iwata, Jhon Solis, Carlos Vicente, Kanya Fujimoto, Jay Stansfield, August PriskeSubstitutes: Ryan Allsop, Ethan Laird, Lee Buchanan, Jack Robinson, Scott Wright, Patrick Roberts, Dael Fry, Menzi Mazwi, William Burrell, Bradley Mayo, Cobi Maddox, Luis Vazquez, Briar BatemanBarcelona team vs Birmingham CityKarim Adeyemi an �18.8m signing from Borussia Dortmund last week started for Barcelona.Alejandro Balde was on the bench as the left-back continued his injury comeback and winger Raphinha has taken part in individual sessions this week following an injury-hit 2025/26 and World Cup with Brazil.Frenkie de Jong was not involved but has travelled with Barcelona and worked in the gym as the midfielder continues his recovery from a serious knee injury.Barcelona starting XI: Wojciech Szczesny, Xavi Espart, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martin, Jofre Torrents, Marc Casado, Ebrima Tunkara, Marc Bernal, Karim Adeyemi, Hamza Abdelkarim, Shane KluivertBarcelona substitutes: Hector Fort, Alejandro Balde, Ronald Araujo, Alvaro Cortes, Guille Fernandez, Brian Farinas, Tommy Marques, Raphinha, Roony Bardghji, Toni Fernandez, Fermin Lopez, Jordi Pesquer, Iker Rodriguez, Ibrahim Diarra, Oscar Gistau, Orian Goren, Aron Yaakobishvili, Alex GonzalezBirmingham City vs Barcelona statsWhile Barcelona won La Liga last season, Birmingham finished 10th in the Championship and were nine points off the last place for a play-off campaign to reach the Premier LeagueBarcelona are in camp at St Georges Park, where they were previously based in 2014 before winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League and in 2016Their last visit to an English club was a 1-1 draw against Newcastle at St James Park in the Champions League last 16 last season, winning the return match 7-2The Spanish sides record against English clubs in competitive fixtures is W38 D23 L21Since a 1-0 win at Manchester United in the Champions League in 2019, Barcelona have won win in five competitive matches in EnglandThat victory came at Newcastle in September 2025, when England international Marcus Rashford scored twice and current Barcelona winger Anthony Gordon replied for the MagpiesBirmingham are winless in their last four meetings with Barcelona, with all five previous matches between the sides taking place in the now-defunct Fairs Cup between 1957 and 1960Their win was at home in the first of those matches, prevailing 4-3 in October 1957 before losing the return match 1-0 at the Camp Nou the following monthThe tie therefore went to a one-legged replay in Basel, which Barcelona won 2-1Only promoted Coventry City and Ipswich Town bettered Birminghams total of 44 points at home in last seasons ChampionshipThose teams were the only sides to lose fewer home games than the three defeats Davies team suffered at St Andrews in the division Topics Birmingham City F.C. EFL Championship FC Barcelona Hansi Flick Karim Adeyemi LaLiga Lamine Yamal Raphinha Tom Brady Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Birmingham City vs Barcelona: Confirmed teams, full line ups for pre season friendly Ben Miller 31st July, 2026 Birmingham City vs Barcelona: Line-ups, stats and preview Ben Miller 31st July, 2026 Rashford posts emotional farewell to Barcelona with return officially ruled out Mitch Fretton 30th July, 2026 Newcastle suffer friendly defeat at Bristol City as defensive issues laid bare Nicholas McGee 29th July, 2026 Neymar hits back at malicious fake news: I wont accept that total lie Ben Miller 27th July, 2026 Pre season friendly matches today: Reports, results, goals from across Europe Ben Miller 26th July, 2026
