NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Away from the spotlight of the World Cup, the Champions League has resumed with Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto “Pico” Lopes unable to play due to his memorable tournament run with Cape Verde.
In 10 matches played Tuesday in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, the first goal of the season was scored in Gibraltar by a player even older than Cristiano Ronaldo: Nano, 41, left back of the Lincoln Red Imps.
Lopes returned to Dublin on Monday, three days after Cape Verde sparked World Cup excitement by pushing defending champions Argentina and Lionel Messi to their limits in a 3-2 round of 16 defeat at Miami Gardens.
Shamrock, where Lopes, 34, has played since 2016, lost 2-0 to Floriana in the first leg in Malta.
“Unfortunately I’m going to miss the game in Malta,” Lopes told reporters at Dublin Airport, “but I can’t wait to get back to training and doing what I love.”
Rovers will host the second leg next Tuesday.
Champions League at the forefront of football
The Champions League took place on Tuesday in a number of soccer nations that have never qualified for a World Cup – Gibraltar, San Marino, the Faroe Islands – and one that has, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnian champions Borac Banja Luka drew 1-1 at home to Levski Sofia, but without their only World Cup player, 18-year-old goalkeeper Mladen Jurkas.
In Gibraltar, Lincoln opened the competition’s scoring with a 16th-minute Nano penalty in a 3–1 victory over Inter Club d’Escaldes of Andorra.
The return of Kairat
Four other matches will be played on Wednesday, notably in Estonia, Moldova and Kazakhstan, where Kairat Almaty returns to the first qualifying round.
Kairat reached the lucrative main stage in the last edition and faced Real Madrid, Arsenal and Inter Milan.
Belarusian champion Vitebsk is hosting its “home” match in a neutral country, Hungary, without fans in the stadium.
UEFA has banned Belarusian teams from hosting matches since Russia’s all-out military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russian teams remain suspended from all European competitions, including the Champions League.
Conference League begins
Matches also began on Tuesday in the first qualifying round of the third division Conference League, in Albania and Luxembourg.
The second-tier Europa League begins on Thursday with teams that often play in the main phase of the Champions League. Qarabaq, Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros are all in action.
Associated Press reporting.
