The K League 1, which has been running tirelessly for seven months since its opening in March, has been divided into six upper and lower teams with only five games left until the end. Each team’s year of farming will be determined by the remaining schedule in the future.
Hana Bank’s K League 1 2024 will start the final round with a showdown between Pohang Steelers and Suwon FC at Pohang Steelyard on the 18th, and Gwangju FC and Daegu FC at Gwangju Football Stadium.
The final round is a schedule in which the top six teams (Final A) and the bottom six (Final B) divided through the previous 33 games play only between each group team.
In Final A, where the top six teams have risen, they will compete for the championship competition and the qualification for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) and Champions League 2 (ACL2) next season.
Ulsan HD, the defending champion, is in an advantageous position in the most eye-catching competition. Ulsan is currently leading the league by five points over runner-up Gimcheon Sangmu (56 points) with 18 wins, seven draws and eight losses (61 points).
Ulsan, which is trying to win three consecutive championships for the first time in the team, has been under strong checks since the beginning of this season and has rarely been able to push forward. On top of that, coach Hong Myung-bo headed to the national soccer team during the season and Kim Pan-gon took the new post.
However, as Ulsan enters the second half of the season, veterans such as Lee Chung-yong, Jung Woo-young, and Cho Hyun-woo are in the lead by overcoming the crisis. Ulsan, which came from behind to win 2-1 against Gimcheon on the 1st and 2nd place on the 6th, will leave for Gimcheon on the 19th. If it wins another match against Gimcheon, Ulsan will be one step closer to its third consecutive defeat.
If Gimcheon wins the showdown with Ulsan, the K League 1 championship competition will not be known until the end.
In addition, in Final A, a fierce fight is expected to continue until the end over the qualifications for ACLE and ACL2 along with the championship.
All teams participating in this season’s revamped ACLE will receive 800,000 dollars in participation fees and 100,000 dollars in compensation if they win the league stage. It is an attractive competition for Final A teams since they can win additional prize money depending on their performance in the competition. The second and third place teams will qualify for ACLE and ACL2.
Final B is a stage where survival is determined, and is expected to be even more desperate than Final A. The 12th-ranked team in the K-League 1 will be demoted to the K-League 2. The 11th-ranked team will face the second-ranked team in the K-League 2 and the 10th-ranked team will face off against the winner of the K-League 2 promotion playoff at home and away.
If the team is relegated to the K League 2 by mistake, promotion cannot be guaranteed. Suwon Samsung, which was demoted last season, is struggling to sixth place, while Busan I’Park and Jeonnam Dragons, which boast a long history, are still unable to return to the team. The longer they stay in the K League 2, the less interest fans and support the team have.
The seventh-ranked Gwangju FC (43 points) has more leeway than the other five teams, but it cannot be relieved as the team is currently playing ACLE together. If it loses consecutive games, it could face fierce competition until the end of the season. 먹튀검증
The eighth-ranked Jeju United (41 points) is also only nine points apart from the lowest-ranked Incheon United (32 points), and it is hard to relax. Daegu FC (38 points), Jeonbuk Hyundai (37 points), and Daejeon Hana Citizen (35 points) are also not far apart.
Six Final B teams will continue to face off against teams with similar points, which is expected to result in a blood-drying match. As a loss of one match would bring the team close to relegation, each team should pour all their energy into the last five matches.