The Asian campaign of Gangwon FC, which was writing a new chapter in its history, has come to a halt for now.
Gangwon lost 0-1 to Machida Zelvia (Japan) in the second leg of the round of 16 of the 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) held on the 10th at Machida Gion Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
With this, Gangwon was eliminated after losing 0-1 on aggregate over the two legs; the misfortune of hitting the post and failing to score in the first leg at home ultimately cost them. Thus, Gangwon's first-ever ACL campaign ended at the round of 16.
Managed by coach Jeong Gyeong-ho, Gangwon started in a 5-3-2 formation. The starting lineup featured Go Young-jun, Park Sang-hyeok, Lee Seung-won, Seo Min-woo, Mo Jae-hyun, Kang Jun-hyeok, Lee Gi-hyeok, Park Ho-young, Kang Tu-ji, Song Jun-seok, and Park Cheong-hyo.
Machida countered with a 3-4-2-1 formation. The starters were Tete Yengi, Soma Yuki, Sento Keiya, Hayashi Kotaro, Nakamura Hotaka, Shirasaki Ryohei, Nakamura Hotaka, Nakayama Yuta, Shoji Gen-Mochizuki Henry Heroki, and Dani Kosei.
Machida opened the scoring opportunities. In the third minute of the first half, Soma drove into the left side of the box and fired a shot, but it hit the side netting. An injury setback occurred. In the eighth minute of the first half, Soma twisted his ankle while clearing the ball and landing, and shortly after he was substituted for Na Sang-ho.
Gangwon struck back. In the 10th minute of the first half, Song Jun-seok unleashed a cannon of a left-footed shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. From the ensuing corner kick, Lee Gi-hyeok's long-range shot missed the target.
Machida scored the opening goal. In the 24th minute of the first half, Na Sang-ho shook off a defender on the left and sent a long cross to the far side. Nakamura ran in from behind and finished with a clever header.
Gangwon made a tactical gamble. Coach Jeong Gyeong-ho withdrew Lee Seung-won and Kang Tu-ji in the 34th minute of the first half and brought on Lee Yu-hyun and Kim Dae-won. After that, Gangwon increased possession and saw some effect from the substitutions, but they did not translate into goals. In the 44th minute of the first half, Go Young-jun's shot inside the box also flew high.
Starting the second half scoreless, Gangwon immediately replaced Park Sang-hyeok with Abdulrahman. Gangwon missed a golden chance. In the 4th minute of the second half, Abdulrahman's shot hit the defensive wall. Kim Dae-won connected with two consecutive shots on the rebound, but both went straight at the goalkeeper.
Gangwon continued to hold the initiative but could not finish. Machida's goal remained stubbornly closed as they played rugged, defense-focused soccer. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Song Jun-seok's long-distance shot also went wide.
Gangwon survived a crisis of conceding another goal. In the 34th minute of the second half, a gap opened in the space behind the defense, and Park Cheong-hyo rushed out to block the shot. The goalmouth was momentarily left open, but Kim Do-hyeon kept his concentration to the end and cleared the ball.
The equalizer never came. Gangwon kept pressing Machida's goal and hoping for a miracle, but their efforts failed. Kim Dae-won's final shot also went wide of the post. In the end, Machida became the team to advance to the quarterfinals.<
[Photo] Provided by Korea Professional Football League (KPFL).
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