FC Goa will begin their maiden AFC Champions League campaign against Qatari club Al Rayyan SC in a Group E match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Wednesday.
It will be for the first time that an Indian club features in the group stages of the AFC Champions League (ACL).
The Gaurs, who had finished at the top of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2019-20 points table, have been placed alongside Al Rayyan, UAE’s Al Wahda and Persepolis FC of Iran.
While FC Goa are on a 15-game unbeaten streak, the Juan Ferrando-coached side have to play out of their skins to get a good result against their strong Qatari opponent.
FC Goa have named a 28-man squad for their ACL campaign this year and it has four foreign players as per the Asian Football Confederation rules. Among these four, one must be from an AFC-affiliated country, a criterion fulfilled by Australian defender James Donachie.
The other three foreigners in the squad are captain Edu Bedia, Jorge Ortiz and Ivan Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, ISL 2020-21 season's Golden Boot winner Igor Angulo and midfielder Alberto Noguera have been left out from the squad that competed in the ISL.
On the other hand, Al Rayyan, coached by former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Laurent Blanc have finished third in the Qatar Stars League.
In the last season of the AFC Champions League campaign, Al Rayyan were knocked out by Iranian club Esteghlal Tehran FC in the playoffs.
FC Goa squad for AFC Champions League 2021
Goalkeepers: Mohammad Nawaz, Naveen Kumar, Shubham Dhas, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem
Defenders: Sanson Pereira, Seriton Fernandes, Leander D’Cunha, Iván González (Spain), Mohamed Ali, James Donachie (Australia), Aibanbha Dohling, Saviour Gama, Adil Khan
Midfielders: Edu Bedia (Spain), Glan Martins, Princeton Rebello, Brandon Fernandes, Phrangki Buam, Redeem Tlang, Makan Winkle Chothe, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Romeo Fernandes
Forwards: Jorge Ortiz (Spain), Devendra Murgaonkar, Ishan Pandita
Where to watch FC Goa vs Al Rayyan SC live?
The FC Goa vs Al Rayyan AFC Champions League (Group E) match will be telecast live at 10:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) on Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 3 HD TV channels in India.
Live streaming of FC Goa vs Al-Rayyan SC match will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
Featured photo: ISL Media
