Ulsan, Pohang, Gwangju ACLE and Jeonbuk ACL2 will appear in 'Before the opening of the K-League.'
Ulsan, Pohang, Gwangju ACLE and Jeonbuk ACL2 will appear in 'Before the opening of the K-League.'
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Ulsan HD, Pohang Steelers, Gwangju FC, and Jeonbuk Hyundai will start 2025 before other clubs.
Ulsan, Pohang, Gwangju and Jeonbuk will play the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League in 2024-2025 before the official opening of the K League 1 from the 15th to the 16th. Ulsan, Pohang and Gwangju will play in the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) League Stage 7 and Jeonbuk will play in the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) round of 16.
Gwangju and Pohang are aiming to advance to the round of 16 ACLE.
Gwangju slid to ninth place in the K League 1 last year, but made a splash in the Asian stage. The team is ranking second with four wins, one draw and one loss and 13 points through the sixth game of the league stage. The team has the same number of points as first-ranked Yokohama Marinos and third-ranked Vissel Kobe of Japan.
Gwangju's opponent is Shandong Taishan (China), led by coach Choi Kang-hee. Gwangju will play its seventh away match in Shandong, China, on Saturday. If the team wins, it will confirm its advance to the round of 16 teams regardless of the results of the remaining eight matches. Shandong is ranking 10th with two wins, one draw and three losses with seven points, but is not an easy match.
AFC also paid attention to the Gwangju-Shandong match. "All eyes are on Gwangju," AFC said on its website. "Gwangju left a deep impression with four wins, one draw and one loss before the winter break. Attention is focusing on whether the upward trend will continue or whether a two-month break will be harmful."
Pohang will meet with Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) at Pohang Steel Yard. Pohang is three wins and three losses and nine points, while Kawasaki is fourth with four wins and two losses and 12 points. If Pohang overtakes Kawasaki, it will have an advantage in advancing to the round of 16. Johor Darlle Taksim (Malaysia), Shanghai Port FC (China), and Buriram United (Thailand) have eight points.
The top eight teams out of the 12 teams in East Asia will advance to the quarterfinals.
Ulsan, the champion of the K League 1, is in a difficult situation to advance to the quarterfinals. After losing five consecutive games, it has struggled to secure one win, and remains in the 11th place with one win and five losses and three points. Ulsan needs to win all seven away matches against Buriram and eight away matches against Shandong on Wednesday to have a chance to advance to the quarterfinals. However, elimination may be decided depending on the outcome of the remaining seven matches. 먹튀검증
Jeonbuk will start the tournament in ACL2.
Jeonbuk has advanced to the round of 16 teams by ranking first in Group H with four wins and two losses and 12 points, and will play its first round match against Port FC (Thailand) on Tuesday. It is its first official match under the new coach, Gus Foye, after experiencing the worst 2024 season, including promotion and playoffs.