The three teams that represented Korea in the 2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation Champions League Elite (ACLE) League, which determines the best soccer club in Asia, showed stark contrast. Gwangju FC, led by head coach Lee Jung-hyo, made a strong impression on its first Asian stage in 14 years, while Ulsan HD, the champion of the K League 1, and Pohang Steelers, the winner of the Korea Football Association Cup, lost face.
Gwangju defeated Yokohama F Marinos in the Japanese J-League 7-3 in the first round of the ACLE League Stage held at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium on Sunday. Gwangju Asani (Macedonia) showed off his presence by scoring three goals in the match. Yokohama was the runner-up team in the J-League last season and ranked second in the ACLE Asian Champions League. “I think it was an opportunity to let Asia know how Gwangju’s soccer is,” Lee said. “I was a little disappointed after 40 minutes in the second half, and I am angry that I lost three points.”
Ulsan and Pohang, on the other hand, lost their first match. Pohang lost 1-4 in an away match against Shanghai Shenhua on Wednesday. Giorgi (Brazil) led the team by scoring the first goal in the eighth minute of the second half, but allowed only consecutive goals in the 19th, 26th and 39th minutes of the second half, before finally bowing down. 스포츠토토
Ulsan suffered a scoreless defeat. Ulsan lost 0-1 to Kawasaki Frontale at Munsu Stadium in Ulsan on Wednesday. Ulsan had failed to overcome this after allowing the first goal to Kawasaki Marcinho (Brazil) at the ninth minute of the second half. Ulsan, the team that won the title in 2020, has challenged for its third win in the championship, but lost its first game, going through a rough road.