{
  "id": 2777965,
  "title": "Barcelona squad named for Elche",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/barcelona-squad-named-for-elche",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-23T11:13:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/barcelona-squad-named-elche-111326513.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Barcelona's squad has been announced for their upcoming La Liga match against Elche. The team will be fielding 23 players for the season-opening game. The goalkeepers named are Joan Garcia, Wojciech Szczesny, and Eder Aller. In the defense, João Cancelo, Pau Cubarsí, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martín, Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Álvaro Cortés, and Jordi Pesquer will line up. Midfielders Gavi, Fermín López, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal, Brian Fariñas, and Xavi Espart will look to control the game. Forwards Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Karim Adeyemi, Anthony Gordon, and Hamza Abdelkarim have been selected to lead the attack. Notable absences include Alejandro Balde, who may be leaving the club, as well as Marc Casadó, Héctor Fort, Frenkie de Jong, and Roony Bardghji due to injury. Rodri, a new signing, will not be part of the group training until Monday and is therefore also absent for this match. The predicted starting lineup for the Blaugrana is in a 4-3-3 formation with Joan in goal, Eric, Christensen, Martín, and Cancelo in the defense, Fermín, Bernal, and Espart in midfield, and a front three of Yamal, Hamza, and Raphinha. The match is scheduled to kick off at 9:30 PM CET (Barcelona time), which is 8:30 PM BST/WAT for the UK and Nigeria, 3:30 PM ET, 12:30 PM PT for the USA, and 1 AM IST for India on Monday. Fans are encouraged to join in following and commenting on all the action during the game.",
  "summary": "Hansi Flick has called up 23 players for Sunday’s clash",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}