Levante Salute Barcelona’s Eight Spain World Cup Winners Before LaLiga Clash

League Soccer

Barcelona’s World Cup-winning contingent received a warm reception at the Ciutat de València before the champions moved quickly into control of their LaLiga meeting with Levante.

Levante marked the occasion with a pre-match tribute for eight Barcelona players involved in Spain’s World Cup success. The home crowd rose to applaud Rodri, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Dani Olmo, Joan García, Eric García and Gavi as they took part in the ceremony.

Quick facts

  • Levante honoured eight Barcelona players linked to Spain’s World Cup triumph.
  • Club president Pablo Sánchez Morante presented personalised local craft gifts.
  • Xavi Espart scored in the fifth minute before Lamine Yamal made it 2-0 in the 19th.
  • Eric García started for Barcelona wearing a protective mask.
  • Levante’s players wore Ceuta-themed shirts before kick-off.

Sánchez Morante led the presentation on the pitch, handing every player an individual commemorative item. The tribute followed a similar recognition staged by Elche during the second round of the season.

Barcelona did not allow the ceremony to distract from the match. Xavi Espart opened the scoring after five minutes, and Yamal added a second in the 19th minute to give Hansi Flick’s side a two-goal advantage before the interval.

Flick made five changes to his starting XI as he managed the demands on a squad facing domestic and Champions League commitments. Eric García was among those brought into the side, with the defender playing in a mask.

The selection underlined Barcelona’s intention to use their depth while keeping key international players fresh across a congested calendar.

Levante also used the fixture to highlight the migration crisis affecting Ceuta, the Spanish city in North Africa. Their players wore shirts carrying the message “We are all Caballas”, using the local term for Ceuta’s people.

The initiative was intended to draw attention to the difficult circumstances facing many people and to call for an urgent resolution.
Marcus Chen

Marcus Chen covers world soccer for berkeleyhistoricalsociety.org — club news, transfers, and the people who drive the game from week to week. His reporting ranges across the Premier League and Champions League, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, plus the U.S. game and World Cup cycles. He came up on football desks at newspapers and specialist sites, where the job was simple: get the facts straight, then explain what they mean for the club and the supporters. The pieces here are written the same way — match reaction, transfer notes, interviews and features that stay close to the pitch.

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