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The ACL match against Japan, Coach Hong Myung-bo said, “I will reap the benefits of the end.”

Ulsan Hyundai coach Hong Myung-bo and Eom Won-sang.

Ulsan Hyundai coach Hong Myung-bo, ahead of the last game in 2023, pledged to continue his career.

K-League 1 champion Ulsan will play the final 6th match of the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) Group I against Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan at 7 p.m. on the 12th.

Ulsan is in second place in the group with 3 wins and 2 losses (9 points) in the previous 5 games, following Kawasaki (5 wins, 15 points). In order for Ulsan to advance to the round of 16 on its own, it needs a win against group leader Kawasaki.

The ACL is divided into a total of 10 groups. The top teams from the five East Asian groups will all pass the group stage, and the top three teams among the five second-place teams will join the round of 16. Ulsan finished second in Group I and is aiming to advance to the round of 16.

At a pre-press conference held on the 11th ahead of the decisive match against Kawasaki, coach Hong Myung-bo said, “This is Ulsan’s last game of the year. He expressed his candidacy by saying, “I will do my best to achieve the end result.”

He continued, “The process of securing the K-League championship and preparing for the K-League and ACL with the players for a long time was not easy. The same goes for motivation. However, because we need a win, we prepared as we have done so far,” he said. “How focused the players are will be the key to victory or defeat.”

Kawasaki is in a good mood, having won all five matches in the ACL and winning the Japan Emperor's Cup on the 9th.

In response, Coach Hong said, “Team morale will be high because Kawasaki won the Emperor’s Cup. However, we will not worry about it and will play the game as we have prepared,” he said. “The players on both teams know each other well because they have played many games with each other. “We are only focused on ending this season with a victory,” he said.

Eom Won-sang, who represented the team, said, “We have to win against Kawasaki to advance to the round of 16 without thinking about the odds,” and added, “The players are also keeping their guard up so that they can finish the last game well. Everyone knows the importance of this game. “I will do my best,” he said.