FC Basel and Barcelona confirm full lineups for pre-season friendly at St. Jakob-Park

FC Basel and Barcelona confirmed their starting lineups for a pre-season friendly at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland on August 16, 2026, with both teams naming their squads ahead of the match.

Barcelona enter the game having won two of four pre-season fixtures, with a draw against Birmingham City and a narrow defeat to Udinese among their results, and will begin the 2026–2027 LaLiga season against Elche in one week. The squad for the trip to Switzerland includes several players who took part in the 2026 World Cup returning to action, while two regulars — Pedri and Gavi — remain absent as they continue on customised pre-season programmes.

Basel named Renato (GK), Vouilloz, Omeragic, Metinho, Otele, Aaron M., Ajeti, Ruegg, Doucore, Senaya and Harder as their starting XI. The club’s social media post also listed absences: Kaio Eduardo (verletzt), Louis, Omlin, Jovanovic und Sigua (alle angeschlagen).

Barcelona’s starting eleven was reported as Joan Garcia (GK), Balde, Raphinha, Espart, Christensen, Fermin, Adeyemi, Gerard Martin, Gordon, Bernal and Eric. Their substitutes were listed as Cortes, Cubarsi, Abdelkarim, Yamal, Szczesny, Orian Goren, Olmo, Farinas, Pesquer, Bisiwu, Tunakar and Eder.

The matchday squad sees the return to Barcelona’s group of Jules Kounde, Eric García, Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo, all named as travelling with the team. Roony Bardghji and Frenkie de Jong are sidelined, with the report specifying that Bardghji suffered a torn ACL.

The preview noted Anthony Gordon rejoined Barcelona’s pre-season training after his summer vacation and stated that Ferran Torres has joined Paris Saint-Germain. The article also reported that Barcelona have rotated personnel across pre-season and that many of the returning World Cup players were expected to be used from the bench against Basel.

Barcelona’s competitive season resumes with the LaLiga opener against Elche in one week, a fixture the club will face after completing this friendly at St. Jakob-Park.