AFC Champions League Qualifying: FC Tokyo, Pohang Steelers, Bunyodkor Advance To Group Stage

Qualifying for AFC Champions League group-stage berths concluded on Tuesday with eight games.

EAST ZONE:

At Pohang, South Korea:

Shim Dong-woon's hat trick (35', 64', 84') provided all the scoring in Pohang Steelers' 3-0 home whitewashing of Hanoi T&T 3-0.  The South Korean club will play in Group H alongside defending champs Guangzhou Evergrande (China), Sydney FC (Australia), and Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan).

At Adelaide, Australia:

Diego Tardeli scored the winning goal in the 39th minute as Shandong Luneng Taishan knocked off Adelaide United 2-1 on the road.  The Chinese club will play in Group F alongside Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima, South Korea's FC Seoul, and Thailand's Buriram United.

At Tokyo:

Hiroki Kawano scored twice (73', PK-90'+2) as FC Tokyo leveled visiting Chonburi FC of Thailand 9-0. The club from the Japanese capital will enter Group E and join Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (South Korea), Jiangsu Suning (China), and Becamex Binh Du'o'ng (Vietnam).

At Shanghai, China:

Wu Lei scored twice (45', 88') as Shanghai SIPG dominated visiting Muangthong United of Thailand 3-0.  The Chinese club will play in Group G alongside Australia's Melbourne Victory, Japan's Gamba Osaka, and South Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings.



WEST ZONE:

At Tashkent, Uzbekistan:

Eldor Shomurodov scored twice (2', 35') as FC Bunyodor blanked visiting Al-Shabab (United Arab Emirates) 2-0. Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia), Zob Ahan (Iran), and Lekhwiya (Qatar) will play alongside the Uzbekistani club in Group B.

At Tehran, Iran:

Abderrazak Hamdallah (63') and Romarinho (90'+3) delivered the goals as El Jaish (Qatar) 2-0 blanked Naft Tehran 2-0 on the road.  The Qatari club will be joined in Group D by Al-Ain (UAE), Nasaf Qarshi (Uzbekistan), and Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia).

At Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates:

After a 2-2 draw after regulation, which was followed by 30 minutes of scoreless overtime, Ali Mabkhout, Fares Juma, Sultan Saeed, Park Jong-woo, and Abdullah Mousa all converted their spot kicks as Al-Jazira won a seven-round penalty-kick shootout against visiting Al-Sadd (Qatar) 5-4.  The club from the Emirates will join Group C, playing alongside Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan), Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), and Tractor Sazi (Iran).

At Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

Mukhtar Fallatah's successful penalty kick in the 45th minute lifted Al-Ittihad to a 2-1 home victory over Al Wehdat (Jordan) and a place joining Iran's Sepahan, UAE's Al-Nasr, and Uzbekistan's Lokomotiv Tashkent in Group A.