No joy for CR7: Al-Nassr fall short, end as continental runners-up | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr came up just short and finished as continental runner-up this Saturday (16).

Playing at home, the Saudi side lost the AFC Champions League Two final 1-0 to Japan’s Gamba Osaka.

Compared to other continents, the competition would be equivalent to the Europa League in Uefa or the Copa Sudamericana in Conmebol.

Deniz Hümmet scored the only goal of the final in the 30th minute of the first half.

Cristiano Ronaldo tried, but failed to score in the match. The Portuguese star had five shots and missed the target with all of them.

Gamba Osaka as a whole had only four shots throughout the match and relied on a strong performance from goalkeeper Rui Araki to withstand the Saudi pressure and lift the trophy.

It could have been two, but they got none

Saturday could have been twice as glorious for Al-Nassr.

In addition to the continental final, the club was also hoping to secure the Saudi League title.

To do that, they needed Al-Hilal to slip up, and they also took the field this Saturday.

But the league’s second-placed side won, pushing the title race to the final round.

Al-Nassr lead the table by two points and will face Damac in their final match of the competition, a team coached by Fábio Carille and fighting relegation.

So far, Cristiano Ronaldo’s only title in Saudi football is the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 Abdullah Ahmed - 2026 Getty Images