Barcelona held by Birmingham as Hamza Abdelkarim equalises from the penalty spot

The opening friendly of Barcelona’s pre-season tour of England is level at 1-1 against Birmingham, with Hamza Abdelkarim scoring from a penalty shortly before half-time.

Barcelona began the second half with the score tied after an eventful opening period in their first friendly match ahead of the new season.

Birmingham took the lead in the 32nd minute when Briski produced an excellent header to beat Wojciech Szczesny and put the English side in front.

Barcelona responded before the interval. Abdelkarim converted from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute to restore parity and ensure the teams went into the break level.

The match had already produced several opportunities before either side found the net. Szczesny kept Barcelona in the game in the 15th minute by making a save to deny a dangerous Birmingham chance.

Three minutes earlier, Adeyemi had attempted to score, but a Birmingham defender intervened to prevent the effort from giving Barcelona an early advantage.

The opening stages were characterised by attacks from both teams, with the sides exchanging forward moves from the sixth minute onwards.

Barcelona’s meeting with Birmingham is being played as part of their preparations for the forthcoming campaign. It is the first friendly of Barcelona’s tour in England as the club builds towards the new season.

The live coverage began with the start of the match and has followed the key moments as they happened. Birmingham’s breakthrough came after 32 minutes, while Barcelona’s equaliser arrived 10 minutes later from the penalty spot.

At the beginning of the second half, the score remains Birmingham 1-1 Barcelona. live updates continue as both teams resume their pre-season preparations.

The match is taking place on Friday, 31 July 2026, with the live account published at 21:35.