Soccer City Johannesburg Wednesday, May 16th, 2018   1st Team Friendly Attendance: 87,000         Mamelodi Sundowns 1-3 Barcelona
2017 /18

Comments :

Match was announced at very short notice, i.e. one week beforehand. yet 85,000 attended. I expected the Barca team to comprise mostly fringe and youth players, but not so. Every regular starter played, with each playing half a game. Messi had missed their previous 2 league games, so only came on for the last 20 mins, receiving a huge reaction when he came on. The first half saw Iniesta, Luis Suarez, Busquets, Rakitic, Dembele, Ter Stegen, Digne and Yerry Mina. The second half saw Coutinho, Pique, Paulinho, Jordi Alba,Aleix Vidal, Cillessen, Cuenca, Alcacer, Andre Gomes and Sergi Roberto, plus Messi. Valverde was the coach. The Soccer City Stadium, also known as the FNB Stadium, is magnificent. Great views all round. Getting in and out was a nightmare, there being no suitable public transport. We missed the first 20 minutes as a result. Sundowns played well, much bettter standard than I was expecting. It was Percy Tau''s last appearance before his transfer to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League. This was the 4th stadium I''ve attended that has staged a World Cup Final. The others were the Old Wembley, plus the Stade de France and the Bernabeu. In October 2018 I also visited The Olympic Stadium in Berlin, making it five.