Chinese team pulls out of Asian Champions League hours before game, cites ‘physical discomfort'
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Shandong Taishan withdrew from the Asian Champions League hours before the four-time Chinese Super League winner was due to play its final group-stage game Wednesday against Ulsan HD of South Korea.
The Asian Football Confederation said Shandong was 'considered to have withdrawn after the club confirmed that it did not intend to report for their league stage match.'
Shandong needed just a draw at Ulsan to advance to the round of 16.
The AFC did not give a reason for Shandong's withdrawal, but the team cited illness.
'Due to the serious physical discomfort of team members, the medical team evaluated that the players were unable to play the final AFC Champions League game against Ulsan HD,' the club said in a statement. 'We deeply regret this and apologize to the AFC, Ulsan HD and the fans.'
The withdrawal guaranteed Shanghai Shenhua a place in the next round to join three Japanese teams in Yokohama F. Marinos, Kawasaki Frontale and Vissel Kobe. They join South Korea's Gwangju FC and Pohang Steelers, Thailand's Buriram United, and Malaysia's Johor Darul Tazim.
Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr finished in the top three of the western zone.
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The runners-up go to Round 5, with the winner then heading to the intercontinental playoff. Tuesday, June 10 (all times ET) _____ CAF (Africa) How many World Cup teams can qualify?9 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs Who is in? None qualified yet What's on tap: Nothing in June. Having last played in March, the 54 teams (now reduced to 52) return to action in September. The nine group winners will advance directly to the World Cup, and the four best second-place teams will fight for an intercontinental playoff spot. At the halfway point of the qualification phase, there are plenty of top teams in control of their respective groups. Teams like Egypt and South Africa are in control of their respective groups for the moment. Morocco, the 2022 World Cup surprise semifinals, are also in control in their group. The one wrinkle is Group E – which has been reduced to four teams after the disqualification of Congo and Eritrea – and how that could potentially affect whoever finishes in second place, since it may not have enough points to be considered for the intercontinental playoff phase. Here are the current top two teams in each group. Group First place Pts Second place Pts A Egypt 16 Burkina Faso 11 B DR Congo 13 Senegal 12 C South Africa 13 Rwanda 8 D Cabo Verde 13 Cameroon 12 E Morocco 15 Tanzania 9 F Ivory Coast 16 Gabon 15 G Algeria 15 Mozambique 12 H Tunisia 16 Namibia 12 I Ghana 15 Comoros 12 _____ CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean) How many World Cup teams can qualify? 6 automatically (3 co-hosts, 3 through qualifying), 2 enter the playoffs Who is in? Canada, Mexico, United States What's on tap: The three co-hosts are in, leaving three more automatic spots for the region. There are also two spots for the intercontinental playoff to be determined. Initially 32 teams began the process, with now 30 teams – six groups of five teams – in the second round of qualification. The top sides from the six groups advance to the third round. In Group A, Honduras is looking to advance. Cuba and Bermuda are the main contenders battling for second place. In Group B, two previous World Cup participants – Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago – are battling for the top two spots. Those two teams won't play each other until later this year though. In Group C, Curaçao and Haiti will move onto the third round of qualifying. In Group D, Nicaragua and Panama are also in control to move on, with Guyana having an outside shot. In Group E, Guatemala is the surprise side and will be joining Jamaica as the two teams that move on. In Group F, it feels like it's anyone's group to win. Suriname currently leads with El Salvador and Puerto Rico on its heels. Here are the top two teams from each group, as things stand. Group 1st – Team (Pts) 2nd – Team (Pts) A Honduras – 9 pts Cuba – 6 pts B Costa Rica – 9 pts Trinidad & Tobago – 7 pts C Curaçao – 9 pts Haiti – 9 pts D Nicaragua – 9 pts Panama – 9 pts E Guatemala – 9 pts Jamaica – 9 pts F Suriname – 9 pts El Salvador – 7 pts Once the two teams from each group are settled, those 12 teams will be placed in three groups of four. Each team will play its opponents in round-robin home-and-away matches. The three group winners advance to the World Cup and the two best group runners-up move to the playoffs. Tuesday, June 10 _____ CONMEBOL (South America) How many World Cup teams can qualify?6 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs Who is in? Argentina What's on tap: It's shaping up to be a fairly cut-and-dry campaign in this 10-team region, but two of these three teams – Ecuador, Brazil, and Paraguay – will clinch. The simplest way for Ecuador to assure its place is to beat Peru, with Venezuela beating Uruguay. Brazil and Paraguay play each other on Tuesday, but need some favorable results to happen elsewhere. Colombia still needs more results to qualify, but it would bode well if they could beat Argentina on Tuesday. Peru and Chile are in danger of being eliminated. Pos Team P W D L Pts Status 1 Argentina 15 11 1 3 34 Qualified 2 Ecuador 15 7 6 2 24 Direct spot 3 Paraguay 15 6 6 3 24 Direct spot 4 Brazil 15 6 4 5 22 Direct spot 5 Uruguay 15 5 6 4 21 Direct spot 6 Colombia 15 5 6 4 21 Direct spot 7 Venezuela 15 4 6 5 18 Playoff zone 8 Bolivia 15 4 2 9 14 — 9 Peru 15 2 5 8 11 — 10 Chile 15 2 4 9 10 — Tuesday, June 10 _____ OFC (Oceania) How many World Cup teams have qualified?1 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs Who is in? New Zealand, New Caledonia (playoff team) What's on tap: The 11-team qualifying tournament from this region, consisting of countries and territories in the South Pacific, concluded in March. New Zealand will head to the World Cup, while New Caledonia will be one of the six teams in the intercontinental playoff. _____ UEFA (Europe) How many World Cup teams can qualify?16 (12 automatically, 4 through a UEFA-only playoff) Who is in? None qualified yet What's on tap: There are 54 (excluding Russia) teams who began the qualifying process in March. Some teams have already begun to play (England, Norway, Poland) while the teams who were ousted in the Nations League quarterfinals (including Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands) will only begin this week. The four Nations Leagues semifinalists – France, Germany, Spain, Portugal – won't enter the fold until September. In all, there are 12 groups of either four or five teams each. The winner of each group will clinch World Cup spots. The 12 runners-up move to a subsequent playoff round, added by the four best-ranked Nations League group winners that did not finish their World Cup qualifying group in first or second place. These 16 teams will then be bracketed to clinch the remaining four World Cup spots in March 2026. European teams cannot reach the World Cup via the intercontinental playoff. Tuesday, June 10 Grp Team P W D L GD Pts A Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 Luxembourg 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 B Kosovo 0 0 0 0 0 0 Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 C Belarus 0 0 0 0 0 0 Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 D Azerbaijan 0 0 0 0 0 0 France 0 0 0 0 0 0 Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 E Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 F Armenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rep. of Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 G Poland 2 2 0 0 +3 6 Finland 3 1 1 1 −1 4 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 +2 3 Lithuania 3 0 2 1 −1 2 Malta 3 0 1 2 −3 1 H Bosnia & Herzegovina 3 3 0 0 +3 9 Romania 3 1 0 2 +2 3 Cyprus 2 1 0 1 +1 3 Austria 1 1 0 0 +1 3 San Marino 3 0 0 3 −7 0 I Norway 3 3 0 0 +10 9 Israel 3 2 0 1 +1 6 Italy 2 1 0 1 −1 3 Estonia 3 1 0 2 −2 3 Moldova 2 0 0 2 −6 0 J North Macedonia 4 2 2 0 +4 8 Wales 3 2 1 0 +5 7 Kazakhstan 3 1 0 2 −1 3 Belgium 1 0 1 0 0 1 Liechtenstein 3 0 0 3 −8 0 K England 0 0 0 0 0 0 Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Albania 0 0 0 0 0 0 Latvia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Andorra 0 0 0 0 0 0 L Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gibraltar 0 0 0 0 0 0 Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? 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