27 minutes for Goren, Barcelona fell to Birmingham on penalties
The Israeli midfielder came off the bench in the 63rd minute. His team staged a temporary comeback with a brace from Egyptian forward Hamza Abd al-Karim, but finished regulation time at 2:2 before losing in the penalty shootout.
Barcelona continues its preparations for the 2026/27 season. On Friday evening, they faced Birmingham in a friendly match that ended 2:2, followed by a penalty shootout. The Israeli focus of the match was Orian Goren; the 17-year-old midfielder came off the bench in the 63rd minute. The game was played at a low pace, with the English side taking the lead through an accurate header by August Priske (32'). Hamza Abd al-Karim turned the game around with a brace (42', 60'), and John Solis (69') set the final score. The game went to a penalty shootout, which the English won 3:2. Goren provided one shot on goal, which was blocked, and completed 11 passes with 100% accuracy, including one key pass. Although he has scored from the penalty spot in the past, he did not participate in the shootout.
Match progression:
32nd minute: Goal! Birmingham takes a 0:1 lead: Cochrane crossed from the left, and Priske beat the Catalan defense to head the ball past Wojciech Szczęsny.
41st minute: Goal! Barcelona equalizes 1:1: Hamza Abd al-Karim won a penalty and converted it himself.
60th minute: Goal! Barcelona takes a 1:2 lead: Roony Bardghji shot, the goalkeeper failed to catch the ball, and Abd al-Karim pounced on the rebound to score.
63rd minute: Orian Goren replaced Marc Casadó.
69th minute: Goal! Birmingham equalizes 2:2: Following a set piece, Christoph Klarer headed the ball to the center, where John Solis tapped it into the net.
Barcelona lineup: Wojciech Szczęsny, Hugo Aspert, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martín, Jofre Torrents, Marc Bernal, Marc Casadó, Ebrima Tounkara, Karim Adeyemi, Shane Kluivert, Hamza Abd al-Karim.
Birmingham lineup: James Beadle, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Phil Neumann, Christoph Klarer, Alexander Cochrane, Tomoki Iwata, John Solis, Carlos Vicente, Jay Stansfield, Kanya Fujimoto, August Priske.
