Hanoi FC meets the defending champion in the AFC Champions League 2023-2024
The draw for the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2023-2024 group took place this afternoon of August 24. Hanoi FC is the only representative of Vietnam to participate, as the V-League 2022 champion in the third seed group.
Urawa red Diamonds - the fourth seed group - are the defending champions, having beaten Al-Hilal 2-1 in the final last season. Previously, the Japanese team won two more championships in 2007 and 2017. Last season, Urawa Red only ranked ninth in the J-League 1 in 2022, but due to the championship, they still have tickets to this season. In this season, the team is fourth in the J-League 1 in 2023 with 41 points, nine points behind the top of the table.
Pohang Steelers - the second seed group - attends ACL as the third-placed team of K-League 1 in 2022. The Korean representative has won the ACL three times in the 1996-1997, 1997-1998 and 2009 seasons, with the runner-up title three times. 2021. Currently, Pohang is second in the K-League 1 in 2023 with 49 points, 11 points behind the top of the table.
Wuhan Three Towns - the number one seed group - was established in 2013, is the defending champion of the Chinese Super League (CSL) and has entered the ACL for the first time. Currently, the team in Wuhan city is ranked 6th in CSL with 36 points, 17 points behind the top of the table.
Hanoi FC chooses My Dinh Stadium as their home ground. Matches will also be VAR applied by the AFC Asian Football Confederation. The three opponents of Hanoi FC have the advantage when they are likely to make the most of six foreign players, including one in Asia and five in the world.
ACL 2023-2024 is still divided into East Asia and West Asia, each region has 20 clubs divided into five groups. Four teams in each group play a round-robin two-legged round-robin format at home and away from September 18 to December 13, 2023. The first team and the three best runners-up in each region will advance to the knockout round of 1/8.
In Southeast Asia, Thailand has three ACL teams: Buriram United, Bangkok United and BG Pathum United. Malaysia has Johor Darul Ta'zim, the Philippines has Kaya FC-Iloio and Singapore's representative is Lion City Sailors.
Before Hanoi FC, Vietnam had seven clubs that had attended the ACL but all stopped in the group stage. Binh Duong attended the most with three times in 2008, 2015 and 2016, together with HAGL in 2004, 2005 and 2022. Binh Dinh and Long An attended the same two times, in 2004, 2005 and 2006, 2007 respectively. Prizes included Da Nang (2006), Nam Dinh (2008) and Viettel (2021).
Due to a 1-3 loss to Incheon United in the play-off on August 22, Hai Phong missed the ACL group stage appointment and went down to play in the AFC Cup instead. The port team is in Group H with Hougang United (Singapore), Sabah FC (Malaysia) and PSM Makassar (Indonesia).
