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'Kya match hoga'- Fans react as Neymar's Al-Hilal set to face Mumbai City FC in AFC Champions League

Mumbai City FC are representing India in the AFC Champions League for the second time in their history. They are to face Neymar's Al-Hilal.

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Rohit Kumar
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Neymar (Source- Twitter)

Mumbai City FC are representing India in the AFC Champions League for the second time in their history. In their first season, in 2022, Mumbai City became the first Indian club to win a match in the AFC Champions League, beating Iraq’s Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya by 2–1.

They have been drawn alongside the competition's most successful ever club Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Iran's FC Nassaji Mazandaran, and Uzbekistan's Navbahor in Group D of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League.

Possibility of Neymar playing in India? 

Mumbai City FC who will play their home games at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune, begin as underdogs in the group. They will face Neymar's Al Hilal SFC, which is a team full of superstars in it. With the likes of Neymar, Aleksander Mitrovic, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Yahsin Bonou.

With the Islanders' home matches, there is a possibility of the Indian football fans cheering as they might get to witness something magical, as the Mumbai fans can watch Neymar and the other superstars playing first time in India. It will also be good for the development of India's Football as well, it might get to face some of the best players who have recently left European football and some of them are in their peak as well.

Coach Buckingham said it was another opportunity to represent India and they are very proud of that. He stated, "Obviously, it could be the last Indian direct entry in this competition for a while." "So we want to showcase the type of football that we can play at that level." The last time that Mumbai City was in the competition, they played in a centralized venue (Riyadh).

Mumbai City won the League Winner’s Shield for the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) season and then defeated last season’s champion Jamshedpur FC in a play-off to be in the continent’s premier club tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr was drawn into Group E alongside Persepolis, AL Duhail and FC Istiklol.

Here's how fans reacted: 

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