GENEVA (AP) — A world away. world cup Champions League resumes with Shamrock Rovers defender in the spotlight Roberto “Pico” Lopez I can’t play because of him Memorable tournament management with Cape Verde.
It was a player even older than himself who scored Gibraltar’s first goal of the season in the 10th game of the first round of Champions League qualifying on Tuesday. Cristiano Ronaldo — Nano, 41, left back for the Lincoln Red Imps.
Lopez returned to Dublin on Monday, three days after Cape Verde ignited the World Cup by pushing defending champions Argentina and Lionel Messi to the limit. 3-2 loss Round of 32 at Miami Gardens.
The Shamrocks, for whom the 34-year-old Lopez has played since 2016, lost 2-0 to Floriana in the first leg in Malta.
“Unfortunately I will miss the match in Malta, but I am looking forward to getting back to training and getting back to doing what I love,” Lopez told reporters at Dublin Airport.
Rovers will host the second leg next Tuesday.
Champions League at a soccer outpost
Champions League matches were played on Tuesday in a number of soccer countries, including Gibraltar, San Marino and the Faroe Islands, which have never qualified for the World Cup, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has qualified.
Bosnian champions Borak Banja Luka drew 1-1 in the first leg at home to Levski Sofia, but were without their only player who played in the World Cup, 18-year-old goalkeeper Mladen Jurkas.
In Gibraltar, Lincoln won 3-1 against Andorra’s Inter Club Descaldes, taking the lead thanks to Nano’s penalty in the 16th minute.
Return of Kairat
Four more matches will be played on Wednesday, including in Estonia, Moldova and Kazakhstan. Khairat Almaty starts again in the first qualifying round.
Kairat reached the favorable main phase in the last competition and played for Real Madrid, Arsenal and Inter Milan.
Belarusian champions Vitebsk held their “home” match in neutral Hungary, with no fans in the stadium.
Since Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022, UEFA has banned Belarusian teams from hosting matches. Russian team remains suspended From all European competitions including the Champions League.
Conference league begins
On Tuesday, matches also began in Albania and Luxembourg in the first round of qualifying for the Third Division of the Conference League.
The second division Europa League will start on Thursday and will include teams that often play in the main phase of the Champions League. Karabakh, Dynamo Kiev, and Ferencvaros are among the participants.
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