Gloom settles over Korean football after Asian woes
Yosuke Ideguchi, second from left, and Yoshinori Muto, third from left, control the ball during the second leg of the AFC Champions League Elite Round of 16 football match between Japan's Vissel Kobe and South Korea's FC Seoul at Noevir Stadium Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, March 11, 2026. AFP-Yonhap
Asian club competitions are over for South Korea, even if teams from other nations still have some way to go.
In the first two weeks of March, both K League teams exited the AFC Champions League Elite, the continent’s top-tier tournament, at the Round of 16 stage. It is a disappointing results for a country that has historically been the best performer. The 12 titles won are still in the records, but these days, Korean fans are having to sit and watch others reach the final stages more often.
This current edition has not been one to remember. Korea had three representatives in the 12-team group stage. While Japan finished first, second and third, Korea’s trio managed just the seventh, eighth and ninth places.
Ulsan HD was eliminated, though Gangwon FC and FC Seoul squeezed into the Round of 16. They didn’t last long, however. Seoul lost 3-1 to Vissel Kobe over two legs, with the Japanese team winning 1-0 in the capital before taking the return match 2-1. The tie between Gangwon and Machida Zelvia was closer. Only one goal was scored over the 180 minutes, and it went the way of the Japanese team.
There wasn’t any better news coming from the AFC Champions League Two, the continent’s second-tier tournament, as Pohang Steelers was eliminated by Gamba Osaka. In the space of 24 hours, all three Korean teams were kicked out of international competition by Japanese opposition.
There have been concerns that the big-spending Saudi Arabian clubs are too strong with their world famous stars, but Korean teams are now no longer getting to the quarterfinals, when teams from the West and East leagues meet.
It may have been different 15 or 20 years ago, but few would now disagree that the J1 League is clearly above the K League both on and off the field. Saudi teams can buy top-class foreign talent, but Japanese teams have become stronger because they develop better domestic players.
Gangwon coach Chung Kyung-ho said, "I felt a huge difference in this tournament. A Korean team beating a Japanese team would be close to a miracle. Conversely, the Japanese team played like a practice match against Korea. That's how different the level was."
Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong agreed. "The Japanese team is faster than the Korean team in terms of both dropping back and attacking. They don't give up much space."
Such comments are worrying and should not be dismissed as losing coaches finding excuses. Korean teams have often lost to Japanese teams in the past, but they have also often won. Defeats are much more commonplace these days.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Korean teams were actually finishing second behind their Japanese counterparts, but, instead, they are way down behind the champions from Malaysia and Thailand.
To add to the worry, the prospect of anything changing anytime soon is slim. South Korean soccer has much to think about over the coming weeks as it watches teams from elsewhere compete in the final stages of the AFC Champions League Elite.