Welcome to Spain for the 18th edition of the Barcelona Fives football tournament. We had 28 teams (14 in the Open Age section, 14 in the Veterans section) from China, England, Hungary, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain all assembled in the hunt for success.

It used to be customary in the World Cup for the defending champions to play in the opening match of the tournament and that is how we began the 2023 Barcelona Fives. This game could throw up some surprises with Senegal beating France in 2002 and Cameroon defeating Argentina in 1990. Here in Barcelona we would have the current holders, Norfolk N Chance, taking on RSC Andylecht. Norfolk N Chance would be hoping not to fall victim to the same circumstance as Argentina and France.

After the early exchanges of the game it was RSC Andylecht who found themselves ahead and in the role of possible giant-killers. Josh Thorpe the man with the first goal to be scored in Group A. Norfolk N Chance were back level though through Joe Sames. Sames had been a key figure in his team's success last year with 9 goals and he was off and running again in 2023.

Sames was not done yet as his second goal of the game turned the match on its head. The comeback, and Joes Sames hat-trick, was complete when he added a third to his personal and team's total. When the game had reached its conclusion Norfolk N Chance had all 3 points whilst RSC Andylecht were empty-handed despite a positive opening performance.

The 2023 Barcelona Fives was to be decided on a group basis with two groups each containing 7 teams. The teams finishing 1st and 2nd in each group would progress to the Cup competition. The teams finishing 3rd to 6th in each group would progress to the Plate competition. The team finishing 7th in each group would be eliminated.

The final fixture in the opening round of Group A was John Arne Riise's Pieces versus Apolo Leyendas. Both teams had played in our tournaments before and we will preview them in more detail as we progress with this report.

Both groups had flight issues so preparation for the game wasn't ideal. Apolo Leyendas probably most adversely affected for this fixture as they arrived direct from the airport just a few minutes before kick-off. This may or may not have had any impact on the game but it was John Arne Riise's Pieces who got into their stride the quickest. Liam O'Doherty was the man to open his team's account as he put the English side 1-0 up. Chris Maydom extended that lead to 2-0 and the points were in the bag when O'Doherty bagged his second of the game. Final score, 3-0.