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Neymar is going to India.
The AFC Champions League group stage draw was held today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In Group D, Neymar's club Al Hilal is rivaled by Indian team Mumbai FC. The remaining two teams in this group are Nasaji Mazandaran of Iran and Navbahor Namangan of Uzbekistan.
In other words, in addition to hosting Mumbai FC in their own field, Saudi club Al Hilal will also have to come to India to play. The group stage fight will start from September 18. It has not yet been decided when the teams will face each other in each group.
Cristiano Ronaldo's team Al Nasr has been placed in Group E. There, Ronaldo's three rival clubs are Iran's Persepolis, Tajikistan's Istiklal and Qatar's Al Duhail. Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology will be used in this tournament from the group stage. Earlier four foreigners were played but from now on the participating teams can play six foreigners in the eleven.
Neymar last visited India in December last year. Neymar visited Goa as part of Red Bull's Neymar Junior 'Five World Finals' programme. Apart from meeting the supporters there, he also participated in various campaign activities.
Al Hilal is the most successful team in the AFC Champions League. The club has won this tournament of continental excellence four times. Apart from Neymar, Morocco's star goalkeeper Yassin Bounu, Senegal's Kalidou Coulibaly and Serbian Aleksandar Mitrovic joined Al Hilal.
Last season, Mumbai FC won the Indian Super League Shield and qualified for the AFC Champions League. This is the only place allotted to India in the AFC Champions League. Mumbai's home ground Mumbai Football Arena is under construction. The club had earlier announced that they would not be able to play their first three matches in the AFC Champions League group stage at this ground. Instead, Mumbai FC had earlier announced that they will play these three matches at the Shivaji Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
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