PETALING JAYA: Eight-time Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will head to the Land of the Rising Sun to continue their journey in the AFC Champions League.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have confirmed that the Japan Football Association (JFA) will host the tournament’s last 16, quarter-final and semi-final matches in the East region.
The Southern Tigers will be going up against two-time winners Urawa Red Diamonds at the Saitama Stadium.
As confirmed on Jan 13, the AFC Champions League 2022 (East) round of 16 contests will be played on Aug 18 and 19, the quarter-finals on Aug 22, semi-finals on Aug 25 with all matches to be decided over single-leg ties.
Saitama will also set the stage for the round-of-16 encounters, with South Korean rivals Daegu taking on 2006 and 2016 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors while Thailand’s BG Pathum United lock horns with debutants Kitchee SC of Hong Kong.
In the other match, Vissel Kobe will take on Yokohama F Marinos in an all-Japanese clash.
The western zone knockout stages will be held from Feb 3-10 next year at a central venue. The winners of the eastern and western zones will meet in a home-and-away finals series on Feb 19 and 26.
JDT topped Group I with 13 points as they made history by being the first Malaysian club to get to the knockout stage since the tournament was rebranded in 2002.
