ACL quarterfinal elimination ‘number of cases’ left in Jeonbuk Hyundai
Ulsan HD has secured a berth to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S. next year, saving its pride in the K-League.
On the other hand, Jeonbuk Hyundai was most likely to advance to the Club World Cup, but it was not confirmed by itself and faced a situation where it had to look at the number of cases.
Ulsan HD, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, defeated traditional Japanese powerhouse Yokohama F. Marinos 1-0 in the first leg of the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League semifinals held at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Ulsan was behind Yokohama in terms of the content of the game, but Ulsan’s pride “Lee Dong-kyung” scored the first winning goal and secured a clean victory at home.
Ulsan’s victory over Yokohama not only brought it one step closer to advancing to the Champions League final for the first time in four years, but also earned a berth to the Club World Cup on its own.
Jeonbuk, which lacked ‘one win’, the number of complicated cases
On the other hand, Jeonbuk, which was eliminated from the quarterfinals by recording one draw and one loss to Ulsan, failed to confirm its advance to the Club World Cup.
In addition, Jeonbuk, which was ranked second (80 points) in Asian club points after Al Hilal (Saudi), was pushed to the third place after Ulsan, which recorded the first round of semifinals.
With the direction of the club’s World Cup qualification unclear, Jeonbuk was all the more disappointing because it was able to get a berth on its own with just one win.
Jeonbuk, which was tied to a 토토사이트 group with Thailand’s Bangkok United, Singapore’s Ryan City Sailors and Hong Kong’s Kitch SC in the 2023-24 Champions League group stage, was said to have received an easy match.
However, Jeonbuk finished second in the group behind Bangkok United and headed to the tournament stage with a disappointing 4-2 record.
Jeonbuk, which faced the Pohang Steelers in the round of 16, advanced to the quarterfinals with one win and one draw, but was eliminated with one draw and one loss to Ulsan.
In the end, Jeonbuk was in a situation where it was confirmed to advance to the Club World Cup if it added six more wins at the Champions League stage, but failed to qualify on its own with only five wins.
Al Nasr (Saudi), Pohang, and Al Duhail (Qatar), who were considered strong contenders for the Club World Cup along with Ulsan, were eliminated and had a golden opportunity, but they couldn’t take advantage of it in the end.
Jeonbuk now has no choice but to rely on the number of cases to qualify for the Club World Cup.
If you record a winning record in the Ulsan final, you will be confirmed to advance to the
First of all, Jeonbuk has to support its ‘enemy’ Ulsan in the semifinals.
If Ulsan advances to the final stage and records a win, it will be confirmed to advance to the Club World Cup.
In addition, there are also cases of cheering for Al Hilal, who has already secured a berth to the Club World Cup.
If they win the second game at home and reach the final stage, the situation will be advantageous even though they were defeated by the United Nations (UAE) in the first round.
If Ulsan and Al Hilal meet on the final stage, Jeonbuk can confirm its advance to the Club World Cup.
On the other hand, there are also cases of direct failure.
If Ulsan loses to Yokohama in the second round of the semifinals and fails to confirm its advance to the finals, the situation will become unfavorable and if Yokohama wins, Jeonbuk will fail to secure a berth.
The situation of knowing must also be watched with interest.
If Al Ain heads to the final stage and faces Yokohama, he will be eliminated, and if Ulsan and Al Ain are defeated in the showdown, Jeonbuk will fail to qualify for the Club World Cup.
Jeonbuk’s fate is expected to be decided over its qualification for the Club World Cup in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
Will the goddess of fate really take the side of Jeonbuk.