On the afternoon of January 17, Beijing time, the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage group draw ceremony was held, and Taishan was divided with Urawa Red Diamonds, Singapore Lion City, and a play-off team, and the overall strength of the opponent was still very strong.
In the new season of the AFC Champions League, Shandong Taishan, Shanghai Harbor, Guangzhou and Changchun Yatai 4 Chinese Super League teams qualified for the AFC Champions League, of which Yatai had to participate in the play-offs, and the remaining 3 teams directly advanced to the main tournament. In terms of gearing, the Taishan team and the harbor were divided into the first gear, and the Guangzhou team was in the second gear.
Previously, the AFC has officially announced the schedule of the AFC Champions League, and the group stage will implement a conference system, the time is from April 15 to May 1, 16 days to play 6 games, very intensive. The Round of 16 until the semi-finals are held in August, with a single-game knockout system, and the final will be held until February 2023.
In terms of the rules of the draw, the East Asian And West Asian Regions are divided into 5 groups each, with 4 teams in each group, and the same association teams adopt the principle of avoidance, and the first place in each group and the 3 best-performing groups advance to the knockout rounds.
At the draw ceremony, the first to complete was the West Asia Zone, followed by the East Asian Zone, Taishan, as the first team, was drawn to Group F, and then Urawa Red Diamonds and Singapore Lion City were drawn in turn to enter Group F, and the other team in this group came from the play-offs, and South Korea's Daegu FC and Buriram United competed for a regular tournament spot.
From the grouping point of view, this group of Taishan team is not easy, Urawa Red Diamonds is a traditional strong team in the J League, won the Japan Cup last season, won the AFC Champions League twice, and they finished 6th in the league. Daegu FC, which is likely to break through, is the runner-up of last season's K League. Of course, Buriram United is also a regular visitor to the AFC Champions League, which is not easy to deal with. In contrast, the Singapore Lion City is slightly weaker, but it is also a league champion.
In other groups, Shanghai Harbour and Chiangrai United, Jiezhi, and a play-off team group (Kobe Victory Ship vs Sydney FC/Shan Confederation), which is a good signing, Guangzhou team and Kawasaki Striker, Johor (Malaysia) a group, the same group there is also a play-off team, it is likely to be Ulsan Hyundai, called the group of death, Yatai to participate in the play-off competition, if it can break through smoothly, will be with Jeonbuk Hyundai, Yokohama Mariners, Jialai Huang Ying in a group, the same difficulty.
Affected by the uncertainty of the epidemic, the form of Taishan's participation in the AFC Champions League is still unknown, last season, the Chinese Super League teams have sent a reserve team lineup, the record is very dismal, the group stage is completely destroyed, and its China An has also been stranded abroad for 5 months. At that time, whether the Taishan team will play in the AFC Champions League with the main lineup also needs to be based on the epidemic situation.