FC Goa Vs Al-Nassr Highlights, AFC Champions League Two: FCG 1-2 NSR; Gritty Gaurs Go Down Fighting

Good evening, football fans! India will welcome the international stars of Al-Nassr as they turn up at Fatorda to face Indian Super League (ISL) side FC Goa. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:15 PM IST, so stay tuned for pre-match updates and lineups as they are announced.

The FC Goa vs Al-Nassr, AFC Champions League Two 2025-26 match will be live-streamed on the FanCode app and website in India. There will be no television broadcast of the match in the country.

There was huge anticipation that Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo 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 Brozovic 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 D. FC Goa, meanwhile, will have their task cut out as they look to open their account in the competition at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

FC Goa began their AFC Champions League 2 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.

Al-Nassr, on the other hand, have made a strong start to their ACL2 campaign under Portuguese head coach Jorge Jesus. The Saudi club opened with a commanding 5–0 win over FC Istiklol, followed by a hard-fought 2–0 victory against Al Zawraa SC, placing them firmly in control of the group standings.

No Ronaldo, no problem. Margao appears to be buzzing in anticipation for the ACL 2 clash, which is less than an hour away from kick-off. Here are a few vibrant snaps from and around the stadium:

This is how FC Goa line up for tonight's big-ticket game against Al-Nassr:

And here is Saudi Pro League titans Al-Nassr's line-up for the face-off with Goa. Sultan leads in Ronaldo's absence and Bento starts:

Right, then. The two teams are out on the pitch and are done with the pre-game rituals and high-fives. Kick-off coming up next.

FC Goa get the match underway at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda. But it doesn't take long for top dogs Al-Nassr, who are kicking from right to left in the first half, to put the hosts' defence under pressure. The Gaurs negotiate it well for starters.

Al-Nassr expectedly dominating possession and also keeping play in the Goa half for the most part. The Gaurs are weathering the storm for now, though the question really is how long they can continue to do so.

Not very long, I am afraid. The deadlock breaks in the 10th minute as Angelo Gabriel clinically slots the ball in to the far corner. The 20-year-old Brazilian nets his second AFC Champions League Two goal and Al-Nassr are on their way.

Al-Nassr continue to badger the FC Goa defence after the goal, with most of the action unfolding in the vicinity of the FC Goa box. Custodian Hrithik Tiwari is a busy man, and will continue to be on till the end of the match, one suspects.

There comes Al-Nassr's second. Haroune Camara comes up with a precise right-footer to double the tourists' advantage in the 27th minute. There was a wall of FC Goa defenders around the defender, but he was able to still weave around them and squeeze the shot in.

Brison Fernandes scores and the home crowd goes wild! The substitute latches on to Borja's pass and dribbles past an Al-Nassr defender before netting FC Goa's maiden goal in AFC Champions League Two, in the 41st minute. The game comes alive, and so does the stadium.

An injury to Javier Siverio forced his early substitution and in came Brison Fernandes, who scored in the 41st minute to pull one back for FC Goa. Al-Nassr still lead 2-1, going into the break, but the goal would have given the Gaurs some belief. Let's see what transpires after the interval.

The second half kicks off with Al-Nassr attacking from left to right and FC Goa in the opposite direction. Abdullah Al-Khaibari has come in for goal-scorer Angelo Gabriel at the start of the half for the Saudi club.

Al-Nassr resume their pressing and eyeing openings near the FC goal. They come close to scoring too, but Hrithik Tiwari and his defensive unit ward off the threats for now.

Gaurs miss glorious chance to equalise in the 67th minute! Boris finds himself in a one-on-one with Bento but his shot is blocked easily by the Al-Nassr goalie. A few inches to the 'keeper's left and that could easily have gone in, but it's not to be.

We are drawing near the end of 90 minutes and while FC Goa haven't found a second goal, they haven't conceded a third either. The home crowd would no doubt be happy with the Gaurs' performance so far, and if they can retain or improve this scoreline, it would be the icing on the cake.

Goa really making life difficult for Al-Nassr now! They conjure a superb counter-attack to force a corner and Borja comes up with a splendid delivery that is just about kept out. Two more unsuccessful tries and Goa miss out. Six minutes of added time, meanwhile.

Drama at the backend as David Timor is shown a straight red card in the second minute of stoppage time for a late challenge. FC Goa will finish the match with 10 men.

There comes the final whistle and it ends 2-1 in Al-Nassr's favour. The Saudi Pro League heavyweights got the three points they set out for, but FC Goa can have their heads held high for the way they fought and also netted their maiden goal of the competition.

Al-Nassr stay on top of Group D with nine perfect points from three matches. FC Goa, on the other hand, stay at the bottom of the four-member group as they are yet to earn a point.

FC Goa now turn their attention towards the Super Cup, where they host Jamshedpur FC in Fatorda on Sunday (October 26). As for AFC Champions League Two, they will visit Al-Nassr for the return fixture of their tie on November 5, and we could well see Ronaldo in action then.