Shanghai, ranked 10th, not Pohang, ranked 9th, made it to the round of 16?a sudden attack on Pohang
Shanghai, ranked 10th, not Pohang, ranked 9th, made it to the round of 16?a sudden attack on Pohang
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This is unexpected news. It is truly a bolt out of the blue for the Pohang Steelers, who had been interested in advancing to the round of 16 teams due to the withdrawal of Shandong Taishan from China.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) unveiled the teams that advanced to the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) East Asian region in the 2024-2025 season on social media on the 20th. With Yokohama Marinos, Kawasaki Frontale (Japan), Johor Darlle Takjim (Malaysia), Gwangju FC, Vissel Kobe (Japan), Buriram United (Thailand), and Shanghai Shenhua (China) ranking first to seventh in the league stage, the owner of the last ticket was announced as Shanghai Port (China).
Initially, Shandong was in eighth place and was likely to advance to the round of 16. Pohang was confirmed to be eliminated in ninth place, and Shanghai Port was able to rise to eighth place according to the result of the match against Yokohama on the 19th.
However, Shandong suddenly withdrew ahead of the final match of the league stage against Ulsan HD on the 19th. The health problems of the team and the coaching staff were the official reasons. After Shandong withdrew, AFC informed him, "We cannot skip only one game. We must give up the entire tournament," which Shandong accepted.
As Shandong left, Pohang's chances of advancing to the round of 16 were also opened. Pohang was ninth with nine points. On top of that, Shanghai Port was defeated by Yokohama and ranked 10th. With Shandong excluded from the rankings, it was expected that Pohang would rise to 8th place.
However, the AFC advanced the 10th-ranked Shanghai Port (eight points) to the round of 16, not the 9th-ranked Pohang.
This is because Shandong's record on the league stage has been completely deleted. Pohang won 4-2 against Shandong in the fourth round of the league stage. However, as the win against Shandong was eliminated, Pohang's points decreased from nine to six. On the other hand, Shanghai Port, which had no showdown with the local league, maintained eight points. 안전놀이터
The problem is that the number of matches is different. Only the results of seven matches were reflected as Pohang deleted its victory against Shandong. Shanghai Port won the round of 16 with points from eight matches. Equity issues inevitably arise.