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Away from the World Cup spotlight, the Champions League resumed with Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes unable to play due to his memorable tournament with Cape Verde.
In 10 games played on 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 for Lincoln Red Imps.
Lopes returned to Dublin on Monday, three days after Cape Verde thrilled the World Cup by pushing defending champion Argentina and Lionel Messi to the limit in a 3-2 defeat in the round of 32 in Miami Gardens.
Shamrock, where Lopes, 34, has played since 2016, lost 2-0 to Floriana in the first leg in Malta.
“Unfortunately I will miss the game in Malta,” Lopes had told reporters at Dublin airport, “but I am looking forward to getting back to training and getting back to doing what I love.”
Rovers will host the second leg next Tuesday.
Champions League in football outposts
The Champions League was played Tuesday in a swath of soccer nations that have never qualified for a World Cup (Gibraltar, San Marino, Faroe Islands) and one that has, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnian champion Borac Banja Luka drew their first leg at home, 1-1 against Levski Sofia, although without their only player who went to the World Cup, 18-year-old goalkeeper Mladen Jurkas.
In Gibraltar, Lincoln opened the competition’s scoring with a 16th-minute Nano penalty in a 3-1 win over Inter Club d’Escaldes of Andorra.
Kairat’s return
Four more matches will be played on Wednesday, including Estonia, Moldova and Kazakhstan, where Kairat Almaty again participates in the first qualifying round.
Kairat reached the lucrative main stage in the last edition and played against Real Madrid, Arsenal and Inter Milan.
Belarusian champion Vitebsk hosts its “home” match in neutral Hungary without fans in the stadium.
UEFA has banned Belarusian teams from hosting matches since Russia’s full military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russian teams remain suspended from all European competitions, including the Champions League.
Conference league begins
Games in the first qualifying round of the third division Conference League also began on Tuesday in Albania and Luxembourg.
The second-division Europa League begins on Thursday with teams that usually play in the main phase of the Champions League. Qarabaq, Dinamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros are in action.
Information from The Associated Press.
