The Saudi Professional Football Association has picked up noticeable quality in recent years, particularly after star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo chose to connect forces with Al Nassr, one of the foremost adored clubs within the Saudi Pro League which welcomed a lot of buzz and clamor from football fans all around the world. As Al Nassr approaches its looming match with Al Ain in the second leg of the AFC Championship Association, let’s look into the details.
Forecasting Al Nassr vs Al Ain Matchup
After securing a win in the first leg, the Al Ain team is all set to travel to Saudi Arabia where Al Nassr will have them within the second leg of the AFC Champions League quarter-final coordinate. Fans are excited to find out whether Al Nassr can turn things around or will Al Ain will stand up to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Al Nassr are the superior group on paper and whereas they misplaced the primary leg, they have made numerous chances that arguably make them the superior group. This season, they have won three of their four domestic matches within the Champions Association. Be that as it may, Al Ain has averaged superior goals per game in their games, faring much better than their rivals.
Al-Nassr is in danger of being thumped out within the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2018-19. Al-Ain has a better chance of making it to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time after 2016, having placed a clean sheet for the second time in their three knockout installations at this competition.
Al Nassr vs Al Ain: The Story So Far
The two groups have faced each other three times within the AFC Champions League thus far, with all games creating conclusive results. The guests have a 2-1 lead in wins. The hosts on the other hand have fizzled to score in their final two matchups against the visitors. Al Nassr has endured two defeats in their final three games over all competitions, conceding a total of eight goals.
Al Ain on the other hand are unbeaten in their last eight games away from home in all competitions and thus have an impeccable record. Al Nassr’s loss in the first leg was their first one in continental competition in 10 games. It will be interesting to see how things turn out for both sides as they take on each other in the second-leg matchup.
Projected Lineup For A Nassr- Al Ain Matchup
As both teams prepare to meet each other in the second-leg quarterfinal match, the lineup for both teams can be predicted as
| Al Nassr Predicted Lineup | Al Ain Predicted Lineup |
| Ospina(GK) | Eisa(GK) |
| Boushal | Traore |
| Al Amri | Al Hashemi |
| Al Fatil | Kaumare |
| Telles | Erik |
| Al-Khaibari | Park |
| Brozovic | Al Baloushi |
| Ronaldo | Atzili |
| Talisca | Romero |
| Otavio | Rahimi |
| Mane | Laba |
Where Can You Watch Al Nassr vs Al Ain Match?
Al Nassr will duel it out with Al Ain within the second leg of the AFC Champions Alliance quarter-final at the Al-Awwal Stadium with too much buzz around the match. Cristiano Ronaldo-backed group are yet to win in their last three installations and will be frantic to bounce back into winning ways. Soufiane Rahimi’s strike made a difference for Al Ain to up a 1-0 and secure a win within the first leg of the quarter-final.
The chart below shows where fans can catch the action which will kick off soon
| Region | Streaming Platform |
| USA | Paramount+ |
| UK | Triller TV |
| India | FanCode and Sports 18 |
| Australia | Paramount+ |
Ronaldo’s Bold Prediction For Al Nassr
During a pre-match conference, Ronaldo told the correspondents that he was sure of Al Nassr’s victory and that the team was prepared to take on the rivals. He further asked the fans to show positivity and that their team was going to turn things around from the first match and surely proceed to the semi-finals.
In a social media post, Ronaldo reiterated the same confidence and believed that the team was going to prevail and ‘turn around’ things from the first match upset. The matchup is going to be a close one and Al Nassr is undergoing a major threat of getting eliminated from the league and therefore ready to give it their all.
Al Nassr Loses In a Thrilling Penalty Shootout Decider
Al-Nassr, who trailed 1-0 after the primary leg, fell 3-0 down on total but fought back to drive additional time. Ronaldo, who had earlier missed a shot in ordinary time, at that point scored a 118th-minute penalty for his ten-man Al-Nassr to equal the score at 4-4 in total. Ronaldo as it were was the only player for Al-Nassr to score within the 3-1 shootout vanquish.
The five-time Ballon d’Or victor, 39, had stood in doubt after some way or another lost the target from three yards when the Al Ain goalkeeper spilled a shot into his way with his side 3-2 down on total after the hour mark. But previous Manchester United player Alex Telles and Ronaldo’s teammate scored within the 72nd diminutive to drive additional time for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, who was at that point diminished to 10 men when Ayman Yahya was expelled.
Al-Ain, from the UAE, went back in front within the first period of extra-time but Ronaldo held his nerve from the punishment spot with two minutes remaining to drive a shootout. Al-Nassr was already down by 2-0 when Ronaldo showed up for his required spot-kick making it a score, however, it was too late then and the inevitable was affirmed when team-mate Otavio at that point missed his side’s fourth penalty shot.
Wrapping It Up
It was a thrilling experience for the fans who were at the edge of their seats throughout the match. Ronaldo’s side gave it their all and did climb back up in the game only to face defeat in the penalty shootout where Rinalsdo was the only player to get in a bucket for his side. With this Al Nassr’s journey in the Asian Champion’s League draws to a close. Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience for the side that will come out stronger than they always have.
