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Journalism of Courage
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr was on Friday drawn in the same group with Indian Super League club FC Goa in a AFC Champions League Two group D raising the possibility of the Portuguese talisman playing a match in India in the upcoming season. But with the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, it’ll be interesting to see if the Portuguese star takes part in the match in India or sits this one out for his workload management. The other two teams in Goa and Al Nassr’s group are Iraq’s Al Zawraa SC and Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol.
Meanwhile, another India club Mohun Bagan Super Giant were drawn in Group C alongside Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC of Iran, Al Hussein of Jordan and Ahal FC of Turkmenistan. The group stage of the tournament will commence from September 16 and go on till December 24. The Round of 16 follows in February 10–19, 2026 and the quarterfinals will be from March 3–12. After that, the semifinals are scheduled April 7–15 with the final set to be played on May 16.
On Wednesday, FC Goa beat Oman champions Al-Seeb 2-1 in their one-match AFC Champions League 2 preliminary stage to go through to the group stage of the continental tournament. The result came amid crippling uncertainty for Goa and other clubs playing in the Indian Super League (ISL) with the league’s existence up in the air. It is also a bit of a redemption for head coach Manolo Marquez, for whom this was the first competitive match since his rather forgettable tenure as India’s head coach ended.
Dejan Dražić and Javier Siverio scored for FC Goa as they managed to keep out some spirited attacks from Al-Seeb towards the end of both the halves. Mohun Bagan Super Giant, meanwhile, qualified for the group stage after winning the ISL last season. Goa had qualified for the preliminary stage after winning the Super Cup.
