Vissel Kobe unveils Iniesta, Villa, Podolski lineup in US match

J-League club Vissel Kobe unveiled its three-pronged attack featuring Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Lukas Podolski, but the Japanese football club was unable to put any points on the scoreboard and ended up with a 0-0 tie in a friendly with Major League Soccer (MLS) club Columbus Crew SC in the first contest of a Southern California tour. Villa played the first 25 minutes of Monday's match in front of just 1,500 fans at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California, reports Efe.

Iniesta and Podolski were taken out of the match at half time. "We have a good feeling about this," Iniesta said after the match.

"The important thing now is to play more minutes and grow as a team, playing with 'El Guaje' (Villa's nickname) again is a joy, we will surely understand each other as always," Iniesta added. Villa said he felt comfortable and that even though it was a match with few attacks, it helped him to get to know his teammates and helped "the team to play with confidence."

Vissel Kobe's next match in California will be on Thursday against Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium. The 34-year-old Iniesta, a former FC Barcelona star, started playing for Vissel Kobe in July 2018.