*This content was translated by AI.
The gap between Korean and Japanese soccer, which has recently begun to widen in the results and administrative power of the A national team and the national team by age, has also widened in the club-level Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) stage.
Seoul, led by head coach Kim Ki-dong, lost 1-2 to Vissel Kobe in the second round of the 2025-2026 ACLE round of 16 at Misaki Park Stadium in Kobe City, Japan on the 11th.
Seoul, which tied the score 1-1 in the first and second games with Klimala's goal in the 20th minute of the first half, collapsed by losing goals in the 32nd and 44th minutes of the second half.
Seoul, which lost 0-1 to Kobe in the first round of home games a week ago, lost 1-3 overall in the first and second rounds to finish the tournament's journey in the round of 16.
K-League teams that participated in this tournament were "completely destroyed" as Gangwon FC was eliminated after losing 0-1 to Zelvia (Japan) the previous day.
Earlier, while Ulsan HD remained in ninth place in the league stage and failed to advance to the tournament, Gangwon and Seoul, which reached the round of 16, were also eliminated after being caught up by Japanese teams one after another.
Last season, when ACLE changed to the league stage and the round of 16 tournaments, Gwangju FC, led by then head coach Lee Jung-hyo, reached the quarterfinals, but this season, even the quarterfinals will be held without a single K-League team.
On the other hand, all three teams participating in the Japanese J-League advanced to the round of 16, and two of them advanced to the quarterfinals, in contrast to the K-League.
Vissel Kobe and Machida Zelvia, who ranked first and second side by side in the league stage, beat Seoul and Gangwon to the quarterfinals, respectively. Only Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the third-ranked team in the league stage, was eliminated by Johor Darlle Takjim (Malaysia).
Japan also had two teams in the quarterfinals in last season's tournament, and Kawasaki Frontale reached the final, but failed to win the championship after losing to Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia).
Following Machida Zelvia, Vissel Kobe and Johor Darlle Takjim, Buriram United (Thailand) filled the remaining spot for the East Asian quarterfinals.
Buriram won and advanced to the quarterfinals after a close game leading to a penalty shootout after failing to compete in both the first and second games with Melbourne City (Australia).
The round of 16 in West Asia, where eight teams participate, has been suspended due to the aftermath of the U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran, and both the first and second round of the round of 16 have been postponed.
If the team that will advance to the quarterfinals in West Asia is confirmed in the future, all the teams that will advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament, including four East Asian teams, will gather in Saudi Arabia and play from the quarterfinals to the finals in a single round.
However, it is unclear when the round of 16 in West Asia will proceed, and it is unclear whether the quarterfinals and final tournaments will proceed normally as scheduled in Saudi Arabia. AFC is planning to announce its schedule in the future, including the round of 16 in West Asia.
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*This content was translated by AI.
