JOVITO LOPES
PANJIM: FC Goa continue to languish at the bottom of AFC Champions League 2 Group D with no points to their credit, while Saudi Arabia giants Al Nassr are sitting pretty at the top, looking confident of securing the top spot for the knock-out stage with nine points in the league, exactly at the half-way mark.
Al Nassr have won every single game so far, while FC Goa have lost every single game.
The return series will see FC Goa taking on Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia on November 5, and will need more than a miracle to record their first point in their away trip to Riyadh even as the Goa team has finally got some quality practice games in All India Football Federation’s Super Cup held in Goa, having lost 1-2 to NorthEast United 1-2 after beating Jamshedpur FC 2-0 and Inter Kashi 3-0.
FC Goa had qualified for the AIFF Super Cup semis after thrashing Inter Kashi. Despite a strong fight, the Gaurs, contrary to expectations, went down 1-2 in the first-leg at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, with Brison scoring a brilliant goal which lit up the Goan sky.
It was a rather surprise result, as most expected a Saudi Arabian whitewash as the visitors, without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, had some of the star-studded players in the squad, including the likes of Nations League winner Joao Felix, Liverpool legend Sadio Mane and UCL champion Kingsley Coman.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo missed three of the team’s previous matches in the competition including one played at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the other against Al Zawraa team at Al Zawraa Stadium in Baghdad City (Iraq).
Consequently, uncertainty over his participation in the fourth match against FC Goa persists even as the match will be played in Riyadh on November 5, after he didn’t travel to Goa. Al Nassr are on the verge of qualification for the knock-out stages being the only team in the group with a clean record of three victories.
According to reliable sources, Ronaldo remains highly unlikely to feature in any group match and could likely play in the competition once the knock-out rounds start.
