On Wednesday, Turkmenistan's “Arkadag” will play the first leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 against Saudi Arabia's “Al-Nassr”. The game will take place at the Olympic Stadium in Ashgabat at 18:45 local time. The arena has a capacity of over 45 thousand spectators.

The “Al-Nasr” players arrived for the match on Tuesday evening, and the team was greeted with a ceremony in Ashgabat. The Saudi club's head coach, Portuguese specialist Jorge Jesus, said at a press conference that his team was very excited to come to Ashgabat and play against “Arkadag”.

The visiting coach noted that despite the Turkmen club's relatively recent founding, the team has already achieved significant success and displays excellent football—fast and intelligent. Jesus emphasized that he had studied “Arkadag's” play and prepared his team well for the match.

Answering journalists' questions about whether five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo had arrived in Ashgabat, the coach explained that Cristiano hadn't come to the match, but that this wasn't the first time. He added that Ronaldo usually doesn't play in away games outside Saudi Arabia. Jesus explained that the team needs to conserve Cristiano and some other players for the main competitions, as they have many league matches and tournaments in Asia.

In addition to Ronaldo, João Félix, Sadio Mané, Kingsley Coman, Marcelo Brozovic, Iñigo Martínez, and Gabriel Angelo also missed the trip to Ashgabat. Jesus noted that the team was conserving its energy, as they have their next game in a couple of days, and he doesn't want to put too much strain on his key players.

Away team goalkeeper Bento Matheus stated that “Al-Nassr's” players are determined to win the match.

“Arkadag” coach Mergen Orazov considers the match against “Al-Nasr” an excellent opportunity for the team to showcase its strengths. He emphasized that the Turkmen players have prepared for this important game at the highest level.

Turkmen team defender Guychmurat Annakuliev expressed confidence that the club will delight his compatriots with a worthy result. The footballer shared that the team is very confident in its abilities and hopes to show a good result in the match against the Saudi Arabian club.