Cardiff 1–0 Roma: Ashford goal settles friendly as Gasperini's side falls in Wales

Paulo Dybala converted in the 58th minute of Roma's friendly match against Cardiff City, pulling a goal back after the striker had come close on several earlier occasions and missed a penalty opportunity. Matías Soulé broke down the left wing, winning a contested ball, and crossed for Dybala to tap in at the far post. The friendly saw Roma mount a comeback, with Dybala's strike reducing the deficit during the pre-season fixture. The Argentine forward had been presented with multiple chances throughout the match but wasted a clear opening from the spot before finding the back of the net in the second half.

Roma faced Cardiff City in their opening pre-season friendly of the summer, with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's side testing themselves further after earlier sessions at Trigoria and against Cannes. The match took place at Cardiff City Stadium as part of the club's Welsh training camp. The Giallorossi lined up in a 3–4–2–1 formation with Mile Svilar in goal, a back three of Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka, and Mario Hermoso, and Wesley and Devyne Rensch operating as full-backs. Bryan Cristante anchored midfield alongside Wesley, with Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala deployed in attacking support of the centre-forward. The standout feature of Roma's team sheet was the first appearance of Castro, who took the centre-forward berth in the starting XI. Gasperini continues to build match fitness across the squad ahead of the 2026–27 season.

Roma suffered a 4–2 defeat to Cardiff in a pre-season friendly on 1 August. Ashford struck twice for the hosts, opening the scoring in the 3rd minute and adding a second in the 39th, with Salech making it 3–0 on the half-hour. Dybala pulled one back in the 58th minute, but Tanner extended Cardiff's lead to 4–1 in the 62nd before Roma's consolation goal came too late to alter the outcome. Head coach Gasperini fielded a 3–4–2–1 formation, with Svilar in goal, a backline of Mancini, N'Dicka, and Hermoso, and an attacking setup pairing Dybala with Soulé in support of Castro up front. Castro was booked in the 65th minute alongside Soulé. Rensch, Wesley, and Cristante anchored the midfield and flank defence. Gasperini made several substitutions in the second half: Ghilardi replaced Mancini after 46 minutes, Malen came on for Castro at the 66th-minute mark, and in the 70th minute both Ziolkowski took over from Hermoso and Lulli entered for Wesley. Gollini and De Marzi were among those held in reserve. The friendly provided valuable minutes for the squad as Roma prepare for the new campaign.

Paulo Dybala converted in the 58th minute of Roma's friendly match against Cardiff City, pulling a goal back after the striker had come close on several earlier occasions and missed a penalty opportunity. Matías Soulé broke down the left wing, winning a contested ball, and crossed for Dybala to tap in at the far post. The friendly saw Roma mount a comeback, with Dybala's strike reducing the deficit during the pre-season fixture. The Argentine forward had been presented with multiple chances throughout the match but wasted a clear opening from the spot before finding the back of the net in the second half.

Roma faced Cardiff City in their opening pre-season friendly of the summer, with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's side testing themselves further after earlier sessions at Trigoria and against Cannes. The match took place at Cardiff City Stadium as part of the club's Welsh training camp. The Giallorossi lined up in a 3–4–2–1 formation with Mile Svilar in goal, a back three of Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka, and Mario Hermoso, and Wesley and Devyne Rensch operating as full-backs. Bryan Cristante anchored midfield alongside Wesley, with Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala deployed in attacking support of the centre-forward. The standout feature of Roma's team sheet was the first appearance of Castro, who took the centre-forward berth in the starting XI. Gasperini continues to build match fitness across the squad ahead of the 2026–27 season.

Roma suffered a 4–2 defeat to Cardiff in a pre-season friendly on 1 August. Ashford struck twice for the hosts, opening the scoring in the 3rd minute and adding a second in the 39th, with Salech making it 3–0 on the half-hour. Dybala pulled one back in the 58th minute, but Tanner extended Cardiff's lead to 4–1 in the 62nd before Roma's consolation goal came too late to alter the outcome. Head coach Gasperini fielded a 3–4–2–1 formation, with Svilar in goal, a backline of Mancini, N'Dicka, and Hermoso, and an attacking setup pairing Dybala with Soulé in support of Castro up front. Castro was booked in the 65th minute alongside Soulé. Rensch, Wesley, and Cristante anchored the midfield and flank defence. Gasperini made several substitutions in the second half: Ghilardi replaced Mancini after 46 minutes, Malen came on for Castro at the 66th-minute mark, and in the 70th minute both Ziolkowski took over from Hermoso and Lulli entered for Wesley. Gollini and De Marzi were among those held in reserve. The friendly provided valuable minutes for the squad as Roma prepare for the new campaign.

Roma suffered a 4–2 defeat to Cardiff in a pre-season friendly on 1 August. Ashford struck twice for the hosts, opening the scoring in the 3rd minute and adding a second in the 39th, with Salech making it 3–0 on the half-hour. Dybala pulled one back in the 58th minute, but Tanner extended Cardiff's lead to 4–1 in the 62nd before Roma's consolation goal came too late to alter the outcome. Head coach Gasperini fielded a 3–4–2–1 formation, with Svilar in goal, a backline of Mancini, N'Dicka, and Hermoso, and an attacking setup pairing Dybala with Soulé in support of Castro up front. Castro was booked in the 65th minute alongside Soulé. Rensch, Wesley, and Cristante anchored the midfield and flank defence. Gasperini made several substitutions in the second half: Ghilardi replaced Mancini after 46 minutes, Malen came on for Castro at the 66th-minute mark, and in the 70th minute both Ziolkowski took over from Hermoso and Lulli entered for Wesley. Gollini and De Marzi were among those held in reserve. The friendly provided valuable minutes for the squad as Roma prepare for the new campaign.

Roma travel to Wales on Saturday 1 August for a pre-season friendly against Cardiff, kicking off at 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT). Donyell Malen starts in attack, with Castro on the bench in his first appearance of pre-season. Neil El Aynaoui returns to action after missing the opening weeks of summer training due to World Cup involvement. Robinio Vaz is available after recovering from a knee injury. Niccolò Pisilli remains unavailable and has not yet reached full fitness. The match will be broadcast live exclusively on DAZN, requiring a subscription to watch on smart TV, gaming consoles (Xbox or PlayStation), or streaming devices including Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, and TIM VISION Box. The fixture will also air on free-to-air channel Canale Nove, though only as a delayed broadcast at 21:30. Roma fans can follow live updates via Forzaroma.info's live blog and the club's social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Roma faced Cardiff, the newly promoted Championship side, in a pre-season fixture at the Helton training centre on Friday, with kickoff at 15:00 local time (16:00 CET, live on DAZN). The match offered the first real glimpse of how head coach Gian Piero Gasperini intends to deploy Castro, the Colombian forward nicknamed 'Torito' who joins Roma after two seasons at Bologna. The key question surrounding Castro's Roma career centres on his role in Gasperini's system: whether he will operate as backup to Donyell Malen or feature alongside the Dutch winger in a two-striker formation. Early indications suggest both players may feature for one half each in Friday's outing. The prospect of Castro and Malen playing together, potentially with Paulo Dybala operating as a trequartista, carries significant tactical intrigue, particularly against defensive systems built around a back four. In Gasperini's previous spell at Roma, he favoured widening Malen when opting for alternatives, though his broader managerial history demonstrates tactical flexibility up front. At Atalanta, he deployed varied attacking combinations: Muriel and Zapata with Gomez as trequartista; Petagna and Gomez ahead of Kurtic; and later Koopmeiners operating behind Hojlund and Lookman—showing a manager unafraid to experiment with multiple forward configurations.

Roma travel to Wales on Saturday 1 August for a pre-season friendly against Cardiff, kicking off at 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT). Donyell Malen starts in attack, with Castro on the bench in his first appearance of pre-season. Neil El Aynaoui returns to action after missing the opening weeks of summer training due to World Cup involvement. Robinio Vaz is available after recovering from a knee injury. Niccolò Pisilli remains unavailable and has not yet reached full fitness. The match will be broadcast live exclusively on DAZN, requiring a subscription to watch on smart TV, gaming consoles (Xbox or PlayStation), or streaming devices including Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, and TIM VISION Box. The fixture will also air on free-to-air channel Canale Nove, though only as a delayed broadcast at 21:30. Roma fans can follow live updates via Forzaroma.info's live blog and the club's social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Roma started their pre-season campaign in Wales on 1 August, with a morning training session at Hensol followed by a friendly against Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium, kicking off at 15:00 (16:00 Italian time). All eyes were on Castro, who was set for his debut, while Neil El Aynaoui returned from holiday and is fully available for head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The majority of the squad was available, with Robinio Vaz having recovered from injury and Niccolò Pisilli progressing in his rehabilitation and expected to rejoin the group in the coming days. The club's pre-season schedule continued with another training session scheduled for 2 August at the sports complex, open to supporters and media. A second friendly fixture against Newport follows on 3 August at 19:00.

Roma arrived in Wales for their pre-season training camp on Tuesday, though roughly an hour behind schedule after switching flights due to an operational issue. The squad will be based at Vale Resort in Hensol and face Cardiff City in their opening friendly at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday at 16:00 local time (15:00 UK time). No morning training session is scheduled before the match. Santiago Castro, who has completed initial work at Trigoria, is primed to feature after his recent arrival, with Donyell Malen set to start as the sole new signing present. Matteo Koulierakis has not yet arrived for his medical examination; he is expected in the capital on Wednesday before joining the squad in Wales. Niccolò Pisilli has been recalled to the group as he continues recovery from a left soleus muscle injury but will not play. Robinio Vaz has fully recovered from injury and is available, while Neil El Aynaoui has returned after extended leave following World Cup duties. Approximately 10,000 tickets have been sold for the fixture. Shuttle bus services will operate every 15 minutes on route 95 between Cardiff city centre and the stadium from Wood Street (stop JB), beginning two hours before kickoff and running until the crowd has dispersed. Gates open at 13:30—90 minutes before the 15:00 local start. Around 100 Roma supporters are expected to attend.