Al-Nassr Winning Streak Without Ronaldo Continues
Al Nassr Saudi FC defeated FC Arkadag in AFC Cup Round of 16 Leg 2 of 2 match played without its Skipper Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday February 18, 2026
[Al Nassr winger Abdulrahman Ghareeb]
Riyadh: Al Nassr Saudi FC defeated FC Arkadag in AFC Cup Round of 16 Leg 2 of 2 match played without its Skipper Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday February 18, 2026.
Al-Nassr received early lead when Abdulrahman Ghareeb sent the ball past the net assisted by a good cross from Nawaf Boushal in the very 2nd minute of the return leg match against Arkadag.
With the win in the Al-Nassr Vs Arkadag (Turkmenistan) match Wednesday, The Big Yellows have secured their place in the AFC Cup 2026 Quarterfinals.
Al Nassr dominated the Group D, finishing unbeaten with a perfect record - 8 wins in group play, scoring 24 goals and conceding just 2, in the ongoing AFC Cup.
Al-Nassr FC advanced through the Round of 16 with a 2-0 aggregate victory over FC Arkadag (Turkmenistan) - first leg: 1-0 win (away), and second leg: 1-0 win (home).
Ronaldo's absence from Al Nassr AFC Cup Matches
Al Nassr had earlier won its away match against Arkadag played on February 11, 2026. Al-Nassr Skipper Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from both the matches.
As for Ronaldo’s absence in the Al-Nassr vs FC Arkadag match played at Ashgabat Olympic Stadium in Turkmenistan on Feb 11, 2026, the Manager said the Portuguese star footballer was rested as it was “an away match” and that “CR7 is avoiding to play outside Saudi Arabia”.
Similiar explanation was made when Ronaldo missed the Al-Nassr vs Goa FC AFC Cup match played in India in October 2025.
Interestingly, Ronaldo has been absent from the Al-Nassr vs. Arkadag AFC Champions League Two Round of 16 Leg 2 of 2 match Wednesday which was played at Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Al Awwal Park is the Al-Nassr home stadium. Hence Ronaldo's absence from a match played at Al-Nassr home ground has sparked speculations as the Highest Goal Scorer in International Football had earlier missed two of the Saudi Club's matches as part of the ongoing Saudi Pro League season in protest.
Al Nassr winning withour Ronaldo
But what is heartening for the football fans is seeing Al Nassr Saudi FC consistently winning even in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo.
In February alone, Al Nassr played 04 matches without Ronaldo. These maches are:
- February 2, 2026 (Saudi Pro League): Al Riyadh 0-1 Al Nassr (away win).
- February 6, 2026 Saudi Pro League: Al Nassr 2-0 Al Ittihad (home win).
- February 11, 2026 AFC Champions League Two Round of 16 First Leg: FC Arkadag 0-1 Al Nassr (away win).
- February 18, 2026 AFC Champions League Two Round of 16 Second Leg: Al Nassr 1-0 FC Arkadag (home win)
Interestingly, Ronaldo was spotted watching from the stands as his team-mates took on Arkadog on Wednesday Feb 18, 2026.
But wait... the Portuguese Football Legend is all set to be on the ground when Al Nassr takes on Al Hzaem on February 22, 2026 in the SPL 2026 Group Match.
[Zohair Mohammed Safwan Faizee is Staff Writer at ummid.com]
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