East Asia Wrap: Sanfrecce, Kawasaki win in Japan; Hong Kong Premier League kicks off

Mon, 29 Aug, 2022

East Asia Wrap: Sanfrecce, Kawasaki win in Japan; Hong Kong Premier League kicks off

Hong Kong: Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kawasaki Frontale both picked up wins over the weekend to keep the pressure on J1 League leaders Yokohama F. Marinos at the top.

K League 1 frontrunners Ulsan Hyundai were held by Jeju United in Korea Republic, while Wuhan Three Towns keep on winning in China PR and domestic action returned to Hong Kong.

Elsewhere, there were fixtures in Chinese Taipei and Macau, so join the-AFC.com as we wrap up the action from around East Asia. 

New Nottingham Forest signing Hwang Ui-jo loaned to Olympiakos

Sat, 27 Aug, 2022

New Nottingham Forest signing Hwang Ui-jo loaned to Olympiakos

London: Korea Republic international striker Hwang Ui-jo has joined Greek champions Olympiakos on loan immediately after signing for Premier League side Nottingham Forest, the two clubs announced on Friday.

Hwang, 29, who has scored 15 goals in 45 international appearances for Korea Republic, signed for Forest from Bordeaux who were relegated from Ligue 1 at the end of last season. No fee was disclosed for the transfer.

#ACL2022 (East): What They Said

Fri, 26 Aug, 2022

#ACL2022 (East): What They Said

Kuala Lumpur: After four days and seven matches of thrilling action in Saitama, the identity of the east region’s representative at the 2022 AFC Champions League Final was revealed: Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds.

With memorable moments a-plenty as a number of teams and players wrote new chapters into their histories. The-AFC.com looks back at what those involved had to say.

#ACL2022 (East): Knockout Stage in Numbers

Sat, 27 Aug, 2022

#ACL2022 (East): Knockout Stage in Numbers

Kuala Lumpur: The 2022 AFC Champions League (EAST) knockout stage was held over the past two weeks in Saitama as a whirlwind few days of action ended in Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds booking their place in next February’s grand finale.

From the 19 teams that took part in the group stage (EAST) when it kicked off back in April just one remains as the representative to face the best of the west and be crowned kings of Asia. 

With the competition now taking a break until the action returns with the knockout stages in the West next year, the-AFC.com looks back at the numbers that stood out after the recent set of games.

I knew we would win, says Urawa's Rodriguez

Fri, 26 Aug, 2022

I knew we would win, says Urawa's Rodriguez

Saitama: Urawa Red Diamonds head coach Ricardo Rodriguez was confident his side would prevail in their penalty shootout against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors as the Japanese outfit secured their spot in February’s AFC Champions League™ 2022 final at the end of a dramatic semi-final at Saitama Stadium 2002 on Thursday.

Goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa saved penalties from Kim Bo-kyung and Lee Seung-gi to set up a 3-1 shoot-out win for the two-time winners after a breathless conclusion to extra-time saw the game end in a 2-2 draw.
 
Yusuke Matsuo put Urawa in front before Paik Seung-ho’s penalty levelled the scores while Kasper Junker hit the post in the dying moments of regulation time. Han Kyo-won then thought he had won the tie for Jeonbuk before Junker’s last-gasp equaliser took the game to penalties.

Kim: Fatigue, jitters caused Jeonbuk's defeat

Fri, 26 Aug, 2022

Kim: Fatigue, jitters caused Jeonbuk's defeat

Saitama: Fatigue especially, and jitters were the reasons Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' AFC Champions League™ 2022 dream ended on Thursday.

Kim Sang-sik's side gave the semi-final tie against Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds their all but a third consecutive match that went to extra-time took its toll on the Korea Republic champions, with their head coach admitting that fatigue and nervousness led to them crashing out.