Jeonbuk and Hyundai have successfully advanced to the round of 16 tournaments in the Asian Champions League ACL for the third consecutive time. Incheon United, which is playing in the ACL for the first time in 20 years, failed to advance to the round of 16 even after winning four group matches.
Jeonbuk won the match against Bangkok United Thailand 3-2 in Group F of 2023-24 at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium on Wednesday thanks to Lee Dong-joon's two goals and one assist. Jeonbuk, which has recorded four wins and two losses 12 points, joined the round of 16 teams as the second-ranked team in its group following Bangkok four wins, one draw and one loss.
In addition to the five top-ranked teams in five East Asian groups, the top three teams from each group advance to the round of 16 teams, while Jeonbuk is ahead of Melbourne City Australia, 9 points in Group H and the Urawa Reds Japan, 7 points in Group J. Incheon ranked third in Group G on the day, and in the K-League, the three teams – Pohang Steelers 16 points, Ulsan Hyundai 10 points, which ranks second in Group I, and Jeonbuk – have advanced to the round of 16. The round of 16 teams, which will be held at home and away, will take place in February next year. The draw for the match is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Jeonbuk has already clinched the round of 16 best teams in its group, and gave the team the first goal just four minutes after kick-off to Bangkok, which has nothing urgent to do. Jeonbuk, which barely had a good game, tied the game at 42 minutes in the first half. When Bangkok's defenders spilled the ball that Lee Dong-joon sent into the box from the right side of the opponent team, Moon Seon-min rushed in and opened the goal with a right footed shot.
After Lee Dong-joon caught the ball sprayed from the half-line at the 31st and 33rd minutes of the second half, he shot diagonally with his right foot to cut through the goal and shot a shot in the round of 16 teams. It is the first time that Lee Dong-joon has launched a scoring spree since moving to Jeonbuk in December last year. Jeonbuk, which lost concentration on defense, gave up one goal at the 40th minute of the second half, but kept its win. 안전놀이터
Incheon defeated Kaya FC 3-1 with consecutive goals by Park Seung-ho, Choi Woo-jin and Kim Do-hyuk in an away match in the Philippines. However, Yokohama F Marinos beat Shandong Taishan FC 3-0 at the same time, making it to the round of 16. All three teams had four wins and two losses, but Incheon -1 fell behind Yokohama +1 and Shandong 0 and fell to third in Group G in terms of goal difference between the two equalizers. Kaya lost all six games.
