On 18 February, in Riyadh, the flagship of Turkmen football, Arkadag, faced Saudi giants Al-Nassr in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Two Round of 16. The match concluded with a 1:0 victory for the home side.
The fate of the match was decided in the opening moments: in the 2nd minute, Saudi national team forward Abdulrahman Ghareeb found the back of the net.
The Al-Nassr coaching staff once again opted for rotation, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo out of the matchday squad and keeping several star legionnaires on the bench. Only Ângelo and Iñigo Martínez appeared in the starting lineup. However, to maintain pressure in the second half, João Félix, Marcelo Brozović, and Kingsley Coman were brought into the game.
The Turkmen club also implemented significant tactical changes. The team shifted from an attacking 4-3-3 formation to a more defensive 5-3-2 model.
Following the aggregate results of both legs (0:1 in Ashgabat and 0:1 in Riyadh), Al-Nassr advances to the quarterfinals, where they will face the UAE’s Al-Wasl.
Despite the exit, this season remains historic for Arkadag. A dominant force on the domestic stage, the club delivered a respectable performance at the international level:
- May 2025: Secured the AFC Challenge League Cup.
- September 2025: Won the Turkmenistan Super Cup.
- ACL Two Playoffs: Successfully advanced from a challenging group featuring opponents from Qatar, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain.
While their journey in the AFC Champions League Two has come to an end, Arkadag reaffirmed its status as the nation’s premier team, bolstered by three consecutive domestic league titles. ///nCa, 19 February 2026