In the early hours of August 23rd, Beijing time, the list of the AFC Champions League's top 32 teams was unveiled, with Riyadh defeating Dubai National 4-2 after an exciting showdown that saw two of soccer's biggest stars, Cairo and Neymar, join forces to kick off the new season's AFC Champions League schedule. Notably, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan each fielded four teams, while Iran, Thailand and China each had three. In the Chinese Super League (CSL), Shanghai Seaport was unlucky to be the only team that failed to qualify for the group stage, recording the worst record in the team's history. The play-off report is as follows: East Asia: Incheon United beat Haiphong 3-1, Urawa Red Diamonds beat Lee & Man 3-0, Shanghai Seaport lost to Batang United 2-3, while Zhejiang beat Thai Harbor 1-0.
In this round of play-offs, Shanghai Seaport made history as the first team to be beaten by a Thai team in the new Chinese Super League season after losing 2-3 at home to Pathum United. West Asia: Riyadh beat Dubai National 4-2, Doha Arab lost 0-1 to Al Marek, Tabriz Tractor went down 1-3 to Sharjah and Vokra Sports lost 0-1 to Namangan Chun. Riyadh Victory, the favorites to win the title with a host of star players such as Crowe, Talisker, Mane and Browe, narrowly escaped elimination. Chinese referee Fu Ming refused to award an obvious penalty in the match, and in the end, Riyadh Victory completed the comeback with a strong performance. The Top 32 list was officially announced: [East Asia Region First: Ulsan Hyundai (Korea), Yokohama Marinos (Japan), Wuhan Sanzhen (China), Buriram United (Thailand), Jeonbuk Hyundai (Korea) Second: Kofu Fung Lam (Japan), Shandong Taishan (China), Bangkok United (Thailand), Pohang Ironmen (South Korea), Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) Third: Hanoi FC (Vietnam), Kaya FC (Philippines), JDT (Malaysia), Lions City Mariners (Singapore), Melbourne City (Australia) Fourth grade: Jiezhi (Hong Kong, China), Zhejiang (China), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Pathum United (Thailand), Incheon United (South Korea) West Asia Region First: Riyadh Crescent (Saudi Arabia), Persepolis (Iran), Qatar, Tashkent Mindanao (Uzbekistan), Jeddah United (Saudi Arabia) Second: Mazandaran (Iran), Duhail (Qatar), Nasaf (Uzbekistan), Tollha (Saudi Arabia), Persepolis (Iran) Third: Sporting Faisaly (Jordan), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Baghdad Air Force (Iraq), Al Ahar (Turkmenistan), Mumbai City (India) Fourth: Al Ain (UAE), Namanganchun (Uzbekistan), Sharjah (UAE), Al Marek (Uzbekistan), Riyadh Victory (Saudi Arabia) The AFC will hold the draw for the AFC Champions League group stage on August 24 at 4:00pm at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The draw will follow the principle of avoiding teams with the association, with a total of 40 teams taking part, divided into two halves, east and west, with four teams in each group. Of these, 16 teams will advance to the knockout stage, which will be played from February to April next year.
