Stepping into the night of December 27th, Zhejiang soccer team met the challenge of Wuhan Sanzhen team on the road and lost 0-2, nevertheless, they still hold the third place in the table with a high score of 62 points. With the league coming to an end and only one round left to play, Zhejiang, Shanghai Port and Chengdu Rongcheng have the same 62 points, and the competition for the AFC Champions League qualifying round has become particularly hot.
According to the AFC's competition system, this season's Chinese Super League AFC Champions League quota is 2+2, i.e., the champions of the league and the FA Cup will be directly promoted to the group stage of the AFC Champions League, while the runners-up and the third-place finishers need to compete for the qualification through the play-offs. Currently, Wuhan Sanzhen and Shandong Taishan have already locked up two AFC Champions League spots in advance, while the remaining two seats will be created in the FA Cup and the league.
As the FA Cup progresses, the top eight teams - Shandong Taishan, Wuhan Sanzhen, Shanghai Shenhua, Cangzhou Lions, Shanghai Port, Chengdu Rongcheng, Zhejiang and Jinan Xing - are about to battle it out. If the top three teams in the league can win the FA Cup, then the fourth place team in the league will qualify for the AFC Champions League.
Currently, Zhejiang, Seaport and Rongcheng are in the third to fifth place in the table with the same number of points, and they are fighting hard for the precious qualification for the AFC Champions League. In the final round, all three teams will return to play at home, facing opponents that don't look too threatening, namely Changjiang, Yatai and Dalian Ren.
Despite the fact that Zhejiang, Seaport and Rongcheng are more likely to win at the same time in the final round in terms of strength comparison and current situation, the uncertainty of the soccer game makes the final ranking of the three teams depend on the performance in the final round.
It is worth noting that if the three teams end up with the same number of points, Zhejiang will finish 1st (6 points) due to their lead in the mini-round robin, Seaport will finish 2nd (5 points), and Rongcheng will finish 3rd (3 points). If Zhejiang and Seaport have the same number of points, Zhejiang will have the upper hand due to their 1 win and 1 draw. If Zhejiang and Rongcheng have the same number of points, both sides will end in 2 draws, with Zhejiang winning by virtue of their 14 goal difference. If Seaport and Rongcheng have the same number of points, Seaport will have the upper hand due to 1 win and 1 draw.
To summarize, Zhejiang is aggressively pursuing AFC Champions League qualification and can fulfill their dream by beating Cheung Kong in the final round. Harbour and Rongcheng, on the other hand, will have to hope their rivals make mistakes while winning if they want to qualify for the AFC Champions League through the league standings, or else they will have to hope for the FA Cup or the top three teams in the league to win the FA Cup.
