Security Fears and Travel Fatigue Rest Ronaldo for Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo has reached 985 career goals, a milestone he achieved last week with a hat trick in the Saudi Pro League. Despite that output, the forward will not play in his club’s next match on the Asian stage.

Coach Ange Postecoglou left Ronaldo off the roster for Al-Nassr’s contest against Pakhtakor in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Monday. The Australian manager cited the physical toll of the schedule as the primary reason for the rest. Postecoglou, who previously led Tottenham Hotspur and the Australian national team, named Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan as other players he chose to spare. He told reporters in Uzbekistan that the decision was made because of the match pressure and the heavy travel load.

Al-Nassr is chasing its first continental title, but the campaign has started slowly. The club sits ninth in the western zone group of the AFC Champions League. That rank makes them the lowest-placed team among the five Saudi league representatives in the 32-team tournament. The competition is divided into eastern and western groups of 16 teams each, with the top eight from each side advancing to the knockout rounds.

Postecoglou acknowledged the rough start in a news conference. He noted that preparation conditions and the lack of full readiness at the season’s start made the early weeks difficult. However, he stated that the team has now reached an excellent stage of development.

The rest for Monday is part of a recent pattern of interruptions. Last week, Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates declined to travel to Riyadh for a Champions League fixture. The Asian Football Confederation postponed that match. Al-Nassr’s previous home game in the tournament on Oct. 12 also faced disruption. Reports of missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels delayed that kickoff by one hour.

Other Saudi clubs are navigating their own challenges. Al-Ahli, the winner of the past two Asian titles, is third in its group. They lost 6-1 at home on Friday but are expected to field England striker Ivan Toney in their upcoming trip to Qatar to face Al-Sadd. Toney has scored 13 league goals this season. He returned to London last week to plead not guilty to an assault charge in court.

Meanwhile, Ollie Watkins scored for Al-Hilal in their fifth straight league victory. That win puts the Riyadh club at the top of the Saudi Pro League. Al-Hilal will host Shabab Al-Ahli of the United Arab Emirates next. While that match appears likely to proceed, uncertainty looms over the larger picture. The Asian Cup is scheduled to begin in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 7, but the Houthis have launched multiple attacks on the country.

Japan Football Association president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto voiced doubts about the tournament’s future at an AFC Congress last month. He said the situation remains unsafe and that holding the event in Saudi Arabia would not be easy. AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa countered that organizers can wait until the end of November to monitor the region. He noted that things can change quickly for better or worse. If a decision is needed, he said the tournament could be moved back a year to 2028. Saudi organizers stated that preparations are continuing on schedule, with kick-off times and venues for all matches finalized last week.