On January 17, Beijing time, the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage draw ceremony was held, Shandong Taishan team was divided with Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds and Singapore's Lion City sailors, and the third opponent was the winner of South Korea's Daegu FC and Thailand's Buriram United. Not surprisingly, the Taishan team will face the situation that three teams in China, Japan and South Korea are in the same group, and if they want to qualify from the group, they must go all out to get the first place in the group. Of course, whether the Chinese Super League team can arrange the main force to play in the AFC Champions League is still unknown.
The 2022 AFC Champions League group stage is attended by 40 teams, with 20 teams in East and West Asia. Four teams in the Chinese Super League qualified for the AFC Champions League, the Chinese Super League champions Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Haigang and Guangzhou directly entered the main tournament, and Changchun Yatai qualified for the play-offs. The 20 teams in the East Asian zone are divided into 5 groups, and the first team in each group directly qualifies, and the third team with the better results is also qualified for the second place.
Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Harbor are first-seeded teams, Guangzhou is in the second gear, and Yatai will be a four-gear team if it enters the main game. The AFC Champions League group stage runs from April 15 to May 1, using the centralized competition system, with 6 group matches in 17 days, with an average of one match per 3 days. After the draw is completed, each group will determine the venue of the competition by way of bidding.
In the East Asian draw, the qualifying match for Group F is the winner of Daegu FC and Buriram United, and the fourth team in Group G is Melbourne City, who are the champions of the Australian Premier League. The fourth team in Group H is Yatai's qualifying group, Yatai's opponents have not yet been determined, the winners of Ulsan Hyundai and Thai port are in Group I, and the qualifier team in Group J is the winner of Kobe Victory Ship and Australian Premier League team.
In the first draw, Shandong Taishan team was divided into group F, and the opponents of the same group determined that the fourth gear was the winner of Daegu FC and Buriram United, and the probability was daegu FC, and the Shanghai harbor was divided into group J, and there was a high probability of encountering the Kobe victory ship. The second team, Urawa Red Diamonds, is divided into Group F, and Taishan is in a group, and the Group of Taishan is likely to be the same group as the China-Japan-South Korea trio, and the Guangzhou team and Kawasaki Forwards are in the same group.
In the third draw, Singapore's Lion City Sailors entered Group F and were grouped with Tarzan, and the two opponents of The Taishan team were determined to be Urawa Red Diamonds and Lion City Sailors, and the qualifying team was the winner of Daegu FC and Buriram United. In contrast, Shanghai Harbour has a better signing, with teams in the second and third gears being Chiang Rai United and Jiezhi respectively, and the potential opponent in the fourth gear is Kobe Victory Ship.