The 10 group winners, along with the three best runners-up from each zone, will progress to the round of 16. Saudi Pro League clubs like Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad and Neymar’s Al-Hilal are in the West Zone.
But the 45-year-old Serb admitted: “It can be really tricky because a lot of the foreign players are lacking the match rhythm.” Lopez, better known as Super, said: “Nobody likes to be deregistered from the league, it was very hard for me. But I understand and respect , so I kept working on being as fit as I can. Everything I’ve been waiting for starts on Wednesday.”
Coach Totchtawan Sripan, who starred for local club Sembawang Rangers in the early 2000s, said at the pre-match press conference: “Playing on artificial grass is something we cannot control. We’ve always been playing on natural grass. Hopefully we can get used to the pitch as fast as we can.”