Away from the spotlight of the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League competition has resumed, but Irish club Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto 'Pico' Lopes was unable to participate due to his remarkable journey with the Cape Verde national team in the global tournament.

In 10 matches played on Tuesday in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, the first goal of the new season came from Gibraltar, scored by a player even older than Cristiano Ronaldo, left-back Nano, aged 41, from Lincoln Red Imps.

Lopes returned to Dublin last Monday, just three days after leading Cape Verde to a strong performance against defending champions Argentina and Lionel Messi, pushing the Argentine team to the limit before losing 2-3 in the Round of 32 in Miami Gardens.

Shamrock, for whom the 34-year-old Lopes has played since 2016, lost to Maltese side Floriana 0-2 in the first leg played in Malta.

Lopes told reporters at Dublin Airport: 'Unfortunately, I will miss the match in Malta, but I look forward to returning to training and doing what I love.'

Shamrock Rovers will host the second leg next Tuesday.

Champions League in Small Football Strongholds

The Champions League competition kicked off on Tuesday in a group of football nations that have never qualified for the World Cup, such as Gibraltar, San Marino, and the Faroe Islands, plus one country that has participated in the World Cup: Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnian champion Borac Banja Luka drew 1-1 at home against Levski Sofia, in the absence of its only player who participated in the World Cup, young goalkeeper Mladen Jurkas (18).

In Gibraltar, Lincoln Red Imps opened the scoring in the tournament with a penalty kick taken by Nano in the 16th minute, during a 3-1 win over Inter Club d'Escaldes from Andorra.

Four more matches will be held on Wednesday in countries such as Estonia, Moldova, and Kazakhstan, where Kairat Almaty begins its campaign again in the first qualifying round.

Kairat had managed to reach the main stage of the Champions League in the previous edition, where it faced Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Inter Milan.

Belarusian champion Vitebsk will play its (supposedly home) match at a neutral venue in Hungary, without spectators in the stands.

UEFA had banned Belarusian teams from hosting matches since the Russian full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russian clubs remain suspended from all European competitions, including the Champions League.

Also on Tuesday, matches of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League, the third-tier European competition, began in Albania and Luxembourg.

As for the UEFA Europa League, the second-tier competition on the continent, it kicks off on Thursday with the participation of teams accustomed to appearing in the Champions League main stage, as Qarabag, Dynamo Kyiv, and Ferencváros play their matches.