Football Tribe SEA Editor
The roster for the AFC Champions League East Zone has been set, as the qualifying process came to a close earlier this week.
Due to Kashima’s loss to Melbourne Victory in the playoff round, the first defeat for a Japanese side in the preliminaries in the tournament’s current format, there will only be three J-League sides in the group stage. League champions Yokohama F. Marinos and Emperor’s Cup Champions Vissel Kobe will be joined by FC Tokyo, who got past Filipino side Ceres-Negros in midweek.
FC Seoul made their way through the qualifying campaign with a victory over Malaysian side Kedah and will be joining Jeonbuk, Ulsan, and Suwon in the Group Stage.
Elsewhere, Shanghai SIPG knocked out Thai League runners-up Buriram United in their playoff round clash, completing the Chinese contingent along with Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Beijing Guoan in the tournament proper.
Thailand’s sole representative will be Chiangrai United, after both Buriram and Port FC failed to emerge through the grueling qualifying campaign. They will be joined by one other team from the ASEAN region, Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Lastly, for the first time since 2017, Australia will have three representatives in the tournament proper, with Melbourne’s victory over Kashima allowing them to join Sydney FC and debutants Perth Glory in the Group Stage.
Group E: Beijing Guoan (China), Chiangrai United (Thailand), Melbourne Victory (Australia), FC Seoul (South Korea)
Group F: Ulsan Hyundai (South Korea), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Perth Glory (Australia), FC Tokyo (Japan)
Group G: Vissel Kobe (Japan), Suwon Bluewings (South Korea), Guangzhou Evergrande (China), Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia)
Group H: Sydney FC (Australia), Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), Jeonbuk Hyundai (South Korea), Shanghai SIPG (China)