AFC Champions League" Two-time runner-up South Korea has been defeated in a row and is in dire straits! We must win against Taiwan today. Korean media: Baseball’s face is at stake...

South Korea team. (File photo, Associated Press)

[Sports Center/Comprehensive Report] The South Korean team lost to Australia and Japan in the AFC Champions League, losing two games in a row. They must win against Taiwan today to have a chance to advance to the championship game. South Korean media "News1" bluntly stated that regardless of promotion or not, this battle will be a battle that affects the face of South Korean baseball.

The South Korean team successfully reached the finals of the AFC Champions League in 2017 and 2023, but ultimately lost to Japan and finished second. South Korea went into this tournament with the goal of winning its first championship, but now it has suffered a setback, suffering two consecutive defeats and having problems even qualifying for the finals. This is also the first time in the history of the South Korean team that it has suffered two consecutive losses in the preliminaries of the AFC Champions League.

South Korea still has a chance to save face. As long as it defeats Taiwan in the final preliminaries, it may advance to the finals in a dramatic way. But Japan must defeat Australia, and then South Korea beats Taiwan. At that time, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia will determine the ranking through "TQB".

"News1" pointed out that Japan's defeat of Australia by a few points will also affect the qualification conditions for the battle between South Korea and Taiwan. If Japan narrowly wins by only 1 point, South Korea must beat Taiwan by at least 4 points to get a ticket to the finals. If Japan's winning margin is at least 4 points, then South Korea only needs to defeat Taiwan to advance to the finals.

South Korea played against Taiwan twice in the AFC Champions League and won 1:0 and 6:0 respectively. However, when encountering Taiwan in the international arena in recent years, South Korea has also fallen into hard battles many times, losing to Taiwan in the 2024 World Top 12 and the 2026 Classic.

"News1" believes that regardless of whether it can advance to the finals, the battle against Taiwan is a battle that affects the face of South Korean baseball. If it cannot defeat Taiwan, South Korea will suffer three consecutive defeats. Young players lack competitiveness in the Asian arena, which is embarrassing.