K League 1 Jeonbuk Hyundai confirmed its advance to the round of 16 with a thrilling victory in the final round of the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation AFC Champions League ACL group stage.
Jeonbuk won Bangkok United Thailand 3-2 in the final 6th match of Group F of the ACL at its home Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 13th thanks to Lee Dong-joon's multiple goals.
As a result, Jeonbuk, which ranked second in Group F after Bangkok 4 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss, 13 points with 4 wins, 2 losses, and 12 points in the group stage, joined the round of 16 by ranking in the top three among the second-ranked teams in the five East Asian groups.
In the ACL East Asia group stage, where a total of 20 clubs compete in five groups, the top five teams in each group and the top three teams with higher points will advance to the round of 16.
Jeonbuk has joined the round of 16 teams following Pohang, the No. 1 player in Group J, and Ulsan, the No. 2 player in Group I, with three wins, one draw and two losses. Although Jeonbuk and Ulsan did not rank No. 1 in their respective groups, they were ahead of Melbourne City, the second-ranked in Group H, with nine points, and the Urawa Reds, the second-ranked in Group J, with seven points.
Jeonbuk was dragged by Bangkok's Wan Chai Zarunongkran in the fourth minute of the first half. An opponent's cross came from the right side, leading to a run as Koo Ja-yong and Ahn Hyun-beom did not properly clear it.
Jeonbuk will be eliminated if it loses as it is. Veteran Moon Seon-min, however, saved the team. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Moon connected Lee Dong-joon's cutback with a right foot shot in front of the penalty arc to shake the net.
Jeonbuk, which regained its confidence, scored an additional goal in the 31st minute of the second half. After receiving a pass that Song Min-gyu gave to the front, Lee Dong-joon penetrated the opponent's defense line and finished with a goal to lead the team's come-from-behind victory. While throwing away, Lee Dong-joon connected Moon Seon-min's pass with a right foot shot at a counterattack situation two minutes later to seal the victory.
Jeonbuk gave up a goal to Bangkok's Longras Pumi-Chantuk in the 40th minute of the second half, but did not lose the lead until the final whistle sounded.
At the Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the same day, national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who is preparing for the AFC Asian Cup in January next year, visited in person to watch the players' performances.
In the final Group G match held earlier, Incheon beat Kaya FC Iloilo Philippines 3-1 in an away game.
However, at the same time, Incheon's advance to the round of 16 was canceled as Yokohama F. Marinos Japan beat Shandong Taishan China led by Choi Kang-hee 3-0 at home. 안전놀이터 추천
Incheon had four wins, two losses and 12 points in six group matches, ranking equally with Shandong and Yokohama in terms of points. Coincidentally, the three teams had two wins and two losses in their matches against each other.
Excluding Kaya, who finished last with six losses, the three teams were able to secure goals in the match. As a result, Incheon -1 ranked third in the group, trailing Yokohama +1 and Shandong 0, which ranked second, and was decided to be eliminated.
Incheon had to experience the bad luck of failing to advance to the round of 16 even though it had four wins two losses in its first ACL finals. Notably, it was painful for Incheon to lose both games against Shandong, which was led by Choi. Incheon gave up five goals while scoring one goal in two games against Shandong.
Incheon started in a good mood as Park Seung-ho shook the net 12 minutes into the game. In the 25th minute of the first half, Choi Woo-jin, who received Mpoku's penetration pass, scored an additional goal with a sharp left-footed shot. At first, offside was declared, but VAR confirmed the score.
Kaya made up a goal with Shimone Rota's header in the 8th minute of the second half of the corner kick situation. However, Incheon sealed the victory with Kim Do-hyuk's neat penalty kick earned by the opponent's handball foul in the extra time of the second half.
