Gwangju FC in the K League 1 of professional football is aiming for three consecutive wins in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE).
Gwangju will play the third game of the ACLE League Stage in the 2024-2025 season against Johor Darlle Takjim (Malaysia) at Yongin Mir Stadium at 7 p.m. on the 22nd.
Gwangju is the only East Asian team that has won two consecutive games and is at the top of the ranking table.
Johor is in second place, just behind Gwangju with one win and one draw.
A fierce battle is expected between Gwangju, which is trying to solidify its lead, and Johor, who is trying to leap to No. 1.
Gwangju ranked third in the league last season and participated in the intercontinental club competition for the first time since its foundation.
This season, he is playing the final round in the Final B (lower split) without continuing last year’s gust, but he is relentless on the ACLE stage.
In the first game on the 17th of last month, he shocked Japan by winning 7-3 against “Kangho” Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 League.
The unexpected event did not stop at a flashpoint. The team also won 1-0 in an away match against the Kawasaki Frontale on Tuesday, showing particularly strong performance in the club competition.
Such momentum is expected to continue through the third round. The team won 3-1 at the match against FC Seoul after the Kawasaki match, and had a 1-1 draw against Daegu FC, securing an unbeaten record.
Johor is currently the No. 1 powerhouse in the Malaysian Super League, but if Gwangju, which has overwhelmed Japanese clubs twice, has shown its organizational strength so far, it is evaluated that the number of consecutive wins can be increased to “3.”
However, there are variables. Although it is a home game, the team will not be able to fully enjoy the benefits of visiting rooms. This is because the match will be held in Yongin, not Gwangju.
According to the Korea Professional Football Federation, which oversees the K-League, the AFC supervisor who came to the Gwangju World Cup Stadium during the match against Yokohama decided that the grass would not be in good condition and submitted a report to the AFC.
It is said that AFC accepted this and found an alternative stadium. It was reported that Yongin Mir Stadium was decided after an agreement with the local government.
Yongin Mir Stadium is also the venue where the South Korean men’s soccer team recently played Iraq in the fourth round of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America.
The match against Iraq was scheduled to be held at Seoul World Cup Stadium, but it was changed to Yongin due to grass problems like Gwangju World Cup Stadium.
As the stadium is open until the A-match, there seems to be no problem in playing ACLE, but Gwangju, the home team, was also hit with a variable that had to adapt to a somewhat unfamiliar environment like Johor.
Gwangju arrived in Yongin on the 20th, two days before the game, and began to adapt, so quickly melting into Yongin emerged as the key. 토토사이트
Meanwhile, another K-League club, the K-League 1 Pohang Steelers, will play Game 3 away to Thailand at 9 p.m. on the same day.
Pohang will face Buriram United of Thailand at Chang Arena in Thailand.
Buriram is currently in third place with one win and one draw, while Pohang is in eighth place with one win and one loss.
Pohang lost 1-4 against Shanghai Shenhua (China), which was the first game, but turned the mood around with a 3-0 victory at home against Shanghai Haigang (China) in the second game.
Pohang is aiming for its second consecutive ACLE win in this away match in Buriram.