Margao: Megastar Cristiano Ronaldo may be missing from action, but that will hardly make things easier for FC Goa, who face an uphill task against Saudi Arabian giants Al Nassr in their third Group A fixture of the AFC Champions League Two here on Wednesday.
There was huge anticipation that the Portuguese great would travel with Al Nassr, marking his first appearance in India, but Ronaldo decided to give the trip a miss.
Apart from Ronaldo, Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozović is another notable absentee.
However, their absence is unlikely to dent the Saudi Arabian side’s strength, with the Riyadh-based heavyweights arriving in Goa high on confidence after two strong outings in Group A. FC Goa, meanwhile, will have their task cut out as they look to open their account in the competition at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. It has been a challenging start for Manolo Marquez’s men, who have shown flashes of promise but fallen short in execution.
FC Goa began their ACL2 campaign with a 0–2 defeat to Al Zawraa SC in the group opener at home, where early missed chances proved costly. Their second outing, away to FC Istiklol in Dushanbe, followed a similar pattern — disciplined for long stretches but undone by lapses in key moments as they went down by the same margin.
With back-to-back defeats, the Gaurs now face their toughest assignment yet against one of Asia’s most high-profile clubs. Agencies