\n<\/p>\n
FC Goa’s Coach Calls for Realism Ahead of Al Nassr Showdown<\/strong><\/p>\n FC Goa\u2019s head coach, Manolo Marquez, has asked fans to stay realistic as the team prepares for their AFC Champions League Two match against the Saudi Arabian team, Al Nassr, on October 22. While this match has excited Indian football fans, the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo\u2014who is managing his time as he gears up for the 2026 World Cup\u2014has dampened some of the enthusiasm. This also marks the end of hopes for fans wanting to see both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi play in India this year.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Times of India, Marquez acknowledged the challenge they face against a team like Al Nassr but emphasized the need for his squad to keep perspective. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have to be realistic about our chances,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we had lost against Al Seeb, we wouldn\u2019t even be here today. Al Seeb is a good team, and now we must face strong teams in the group stage consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n Marquez added, \u201cPlaying against Al Nassr is not your average game. They are very strong and favorites to win the group and potentially the championship.\u201d He expressed confidence in his team\u2019s mindset, stating they would aim to win or, at the very least, secure a draw. He mentioned that while they would tweak a few things in their strategy, their overall approach would remain the same.<\/p>\n FC Goa has had a challenging start in the tournament. After losing 0-2 to FC Istiklol in their first match, they currently sit at the bottom of Group D without scoring. This last game highlighted some areas where they still need to improve, particularly when finishing their attacks\u2014something that will be crucial against a top team like Al Nassr.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Al Nassr has been in excellent form. Leading the Saudi Pro League, they have netted 19 goals in just five matches while allowing only two. They have also continued their strong performance in the AFC Champions League Two, winning both of their opening games without conceding a goal. Even without Ronaldo, Al Nassr’s squad is packed with talent and experience, which Marquez recognizes as a significant challenge. He insists that his team must approach the game with composure and tactical discipline.<\/p>\n As the date draws near, all eyes will be on this exciting clash, where FC Goa aims to rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FC Goa’s Coach Calls for Realism Ahead of Al Nassr Showdown FC Goa\u2019s head coach, Manolo Marquez, has asked fans to stay realistic as the team prepares for their AFC Champions League Two match against the Saudi Arabian team, Al Nassr, on October 22. While this match has excited Indian football fans, the absence of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[24370,24371,24373,24369,24372,22388,20381,24368],"class_list":["post-19486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-afc-champions-league-two-2025","tag-al-nassr-acl-campaign","tag-al-nassr-without-ronaldo","tag-cristiano-ronaldo-india-match","tag-fc-goa-acl-two","tag-fc-goa-vs-al-nassr","tag-indian-football-news","tag-manolo-marquez-fc-goa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}