Kim hails Pohang's ‘fantastic’ performance

Davy Bulthuis’ miss in the opening round of the shootout cost Hong Myung-bo’s side the opportunity to become only the second club to successfully defend the title since the competition’s creation in 2002 with Kang Sang-woo hitting the decisive fifth spot-kick for Pohang.

Yun Il-lok had scored the opener seven minutes into the second half for Ulsan but Alex Grant’s 89th minute header after Won Du-jae’s 68th minute sending off took the game into extra-time.

With neither side able to score again in the additional 30 minutes, Bulthuis’ penalty miss – when he fired high over Lee Jun’s goal with the first kick of the decider – proved decisive to keep Pohang on track for a record fourth Asian club championship title.

The Uzbek side looked to be cruising into the decider when an Fernando Recio own goal and Khusain Norchaev’s seventh of the tournament had them 2-0 up after 26 minutes, but the visitors produced a stirring response to force extra-time thanks to second half goals from Gil Martins and Jose Angel.

But Kaluđerović emerged as the hero, volleying home in the 106th minute as Nasaf booked a place in next month’s decider against Muharraq Club of Bahrain, who defeated Kuwait SC 2-0 in the West Zonal final on Wednesday.

The decision was taken by the AFC Executive Committee after taking into consideration the existing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, while prioritising the safety and wellbeing of all stakeholders in the lead-up to the Finals of Asia’s premier men’s national team tournament, which will be held in China PR from June 16 to July 16, 2023.

It was agreed that the three Match Days would be held on June 8, 11 and 14, 2022, with the AFC opening in due course the bidding process to all Participating Member Associations to express their interest in hosting the AFC Asian Cup China 2023™ Qualifiers Final Round.

Similar to the bidding process of all centralised AFC Competitions in 2021, a wide range of requirements have been put in place to ensure adherence to the highest health and safety protocols and standards.

These include minimum travel and quarantine restrictions for all participating teams, convenience of flight connections to the host country, the medical situation in the host country, sufficient venues to organise the matches and most importantly, mandatory COVID-19 test to be organised for all players and officials upon arrival and during the duration of the competition under the guidance of the AFC’s Infection Control Officers.

The new match schedule may be amended where necessary pursuant to relevant provisions of the competition regulations.

Following the conclusion of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023™ Qualifiers Play-off stage earlier this month, Indonesia and Cambodia sealed the final two spots in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023™ Qualifiers Final Round after 22 teams clinched their places in June’s Preliminary Joint Qualifiers Round 2.