The reigning champions of Turkmenistan, “Arkadag,” confidently overcame the qualifying hurdle of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Two, defeating India’s “Goa” by a score of 3–0. Thanks to this success, Vladimir Bayramov’s team will represent Turkmenistan in the group stage of Asia’s second-most prestigious club tournament for the second consecutive year.
The match was played at the completely sold-out 10,000-seat stadium in the city of Arkadag.
“Goa” arrived in Turkmenistan as the holders of the Indian Super Cup and one of the country’s best-known clubs. Founded in 2014, the team regularly reaches the playoffs of the Indian Super League and went down in history as the first Indian club to play in the group stage of the main AFC Champions League, in 2021.
“Goa” earned the right to compete in the AFC Champions League Two qualifying round by winning the Indian Super Cup, defeating “East Bengal” in the final on penalties — 6:5 (0:0 in regular and extra time).
However, the club underwent serious changes during the summer. Following the departure of longtime head coach Manolo Márquez, who took charge of “Mumbai City,” the team was taken over by Gouramangi Singh. On the eve of the match, Indian media described the game against “Arkadag” as the most serious test, noting that the club had approached the tournament with a weakened squad due to the departure of many key players. Only captain Sandesh Jhingan and Udanta Singh remained from the main squad. The four new foreign players who had arrived had not yet had time to develop an understanding with their teammates. Two of them — Argentina’s Francisco Feuillassier and Spain’s Alex Vallejo — had trained in Goa for only a week; 29-year-old Spanish forward Chiki had completed just one training session, while another Spanish player, defender Alex Zalaya, joined the team directly in Turkmenistan.
Despite their squad problems, the visitors hoped to reach the AFC Champions League Two group stage for the second consecutive year.
From the opening minutes, the hosts took the initiative, making active use of the flanks and applying high pressure. Arzuvguly Sapargulyyev was particularly dangerous, constantly creating problems for the visitors’ defense.
Early in the match, goalkeeper Bob Jackson Raj saved “Goa,” first parrying a shot by Begench Akmammedov and then dealing with Abdy Byashimov’s follow-up.
In the 26th minute, Byashimov came close to scoring again, heading dangerously after a corner, but Raj spectacularly tipped the ball away.
The hosts missed another opportunity to open the scoring just before halftime, when Rahman Myratberdiyev produced a beautiful bicycle kick, but the ball flew just over the crossbar.
After the break, the Turkmen champions increased the pressure even further. In the 58th minute, Didar Durdyev even put the ball into the net, but after consulting with his assistant, Kuwaiti referee Abdullah Jamali disallowed the goal for offside.
However, it did not take long for the goal to arrive.
In the 61st minute, the hosts executed an exemplary combination following a throw-in. Several short passes ended with a precise shot by Meylis Diniyev, who, from the right corner of the penalty area, struck the ball first-time into the far corner behind the goalkeeper — 1:0.
Four minutes later, the advantage became even more convincing. Rahman Myratberdiyev produced a brilliant individual effort: he won the ball in a sliding tackle on the left flank, broke into the penalty area and fired a low shot accurately into the near corner — 2:0.
Arzuvguly Sapargulyyev set the final score. In the 75th minute, he brilliantly took a free kick from approximately 27 metres. The goalkeeper managed to get a touch to the ball, but could no longer save his team — 3:0.
In stoppage time, Didar Durdyev came close to scoring a fourth goal, but his close-range effort struck the goalkeeper’s shoulder.
The victory over “Goa” became another bright page in the history of encounters between Turkmen clubs and representatives of India in Asian tournaments. In recent years, Turkmen teams have achieved an impressive run of results. In 2018, “Altyn Asyr” confidently defeated “Bengaluru” in the AFC Cup Inter-Zone semifinals, winning 5:2 on aggregate. In August 2024, the same Ashgabat club defeated “East Bengal” in Kolkata — 3:2 in the AFC Champions League Two qualifying round. Several months later, “Arkadag” knocked the same Indian club out of the AFC Challenge League quarterfinals. In September 2025, “Ahal” defeated one of India’s strongest clubs, “Mohun Bagan,” 1:0 in Kolkata. And now “Arkadag” has thrashed “Goa” — 3:0.
Following the qualifying round, “Arkadag” secured a place in the AFC Champions League Two group stage, where it will compete among 32 clubs from across the continent. In another qualifying match, India’s “East Bengal” confidently defeated Kuwait’s “Al-Arabi” 4:1 at home. Both teams will now compete in the main tournament.
At the same time, Turkmenistan will be represented in two AFC club competitions. The national championship runners-up, “Ahal,” will begin the season in the group stage of the AFC Challenge League, the third-most prestigious tournament, while the country’s champions, “Arkadag,” will once again seek to improve upon last year’s achievement in the continent’s second-most prestigious competition.
As a reminder, in the 2025/26 season, the Turkmen club successfully progressed through the AFC Champions League Two group stage and reached the playoffs, where it lost twice to Saudi Arabia’s “Al-Nassr” in the Round of 16, on both occasions by a score of 0:1. Now Vladimir Bayramov’s team has a new opportunity to fight for an even better result on the Asian stage.
