Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr Advances To Asian Champions League Group Stage, Can Face Mumbai City FC In Pune, Here’s HOW

The draw for the 32-team Asian Champions League, which starts next month, will be made on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While Cristiano Ronaldo will be there, the biggest name playing in the eastern half will miss out.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr have qualifier for Asian Champions League main draw. (Source: Twitter)

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr advanced to the group stage of the Asian Champions League (ACL) on Tuesday after three late goals in a 4-2 win over Shabab Al-Ahli of the United Arab Emirates. Ronaldo’s team trailed 2-1 before Sultan Al-Ghannam headed the equalizer in the 88th minute. Brazilian attacker Anderson Talisca then scored his second of the game in stoppage time before Marcelo Brozovic sealed it before the final whistle.

Yahya Al-Ghassani scored twice in the first half for Al-Ahli. The win means Al-Nassr joins fellow big-spending Saudi Arabian clubs Al-Hilal, which has signed Neymar, Al-Ittihad and Al-Fahya in the group stage.

The draw for the 32-team tournament, which starts next month, will be made on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While Ronaldo will be there, the biggest name playing in the eastern half will miss out. Brazilian midfielder Oscar could not prevent Shanghai Port from losing 3-2 to BG Pathum United of Thailand.

Defending champion Urawa Reds of Japan beat Lee Man Warriors of Hong Kong 3-0.

Difficult game, but Important win to qualify for the Asian champions league!
Always believe to the end! Never give up!__@AlNassrFC @AlNassrFC __ pic.twitter.com/ibvDxoyvWm — Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) August 22, 2023

India’s Mumbai City FC have also qualified for the ACL and have announced that the club will be playing their ‘home’ games at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune. If Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr ends up in the same group as Mumbai City FC, then we could see the Portugal superstar playing in India for the first time ever.

The present infrastructural set up at the Mumbai Football Arena makes the venue ineligible to host AFC Champions League games. Mumbai City FC will thus set up base in Pune for their three ‘home’ games in the Group Stage of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League. Being the only top-division football club from the state of Maharashtra, the decision to adopt Pune as the club’s ‘home’ for the AFC Champions League was taken to make sure top level continental footballing action stayed within Maharashtra - one of the steps towards Mumbai City FC’s vision of helping football grow in the state.

With a rich history of hosting elite football, the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex serves as the nearest football-specific stadium to Mumbai and allows Mumbai City FC to maintain close proximity for fans to travel from Mumbai. With Asia’s elite clubs participating in the continent’s premier tournament, boasting some of the biggest names in world football, Mumbai City FC aims to make top-level football more accessible to watch and drive a footballing culture across parts of Maharashtra.

Mumbai City FC will find out who their opponents are at the 2023-24 AFC Champions League Group Stage Draw, scheduled at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 24 at 1:30 PM IST.