The Blue Wave have headed to Doha for Wednesday’s quarter-final, first leg determined to extend their first-ever excursion into the competition’s knockout stages.
Talented opponents who beat Al Ain twice in Group D and bettered neighbours Lekhwiya during the round of 16 await them at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
“It’s a very important match,” said Jovanovic. “A very difficult team and tough game for both.
“It’s the first time we reach the quarters. We will try to reach the semis. El Jaish is an excellent team. They showed this in the earlier stage. They showed that against Lekhwiya, also. We will do our best to go to the next round.”
The summer recess has allowed both combatants to reshape. Nasr have added Morocco playmaker Abdelaziz Barrada and Sharjah striker Wanderley among others, while the Soldiers’ headline business was forced upon them.
Ex-Barcelona and Roma centre midfielder Seydou Keita, 36, will be the star attraction in Qatar after he was snapped up following an ill-timed injury to deadly centre forward Abderrazak Hamdallah.
Jaish boss Sabri Lamouchi was looking forward to seeing his exalted new signing in action.
He said: “I can say we are happy and proud to play the quarter-finals. Nobody could have imagined to see El Jaish in this position.
“Before we talk about Seydou Keita, I want to remind you that he is here because Hamdallah is injured. I want to wish him well. We are waiting for him to return.
“It will be [Keita’s] first official game. We need his experience for tomorrow and in the Qatar Stars League. Of course, it is a big name – hopefully he will do well.”
Nasr have shown remarkable composure to get this far. They edged into second place in Group A ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, prior to holding on during a heated second leg at Iran’s Tractor Sazi to make the last eight.
Right-back Ahmed Al Yassi was confident of a acquiring a positive result to take back to the UAE for the return leg in Dubai on September 14.
He said: “We did a good preparation. We trained in Dubai and in Poland for 14 days. New players have joined us. We hope they add value to our team. We have also trained in high temperature.”