April 25 beat East Bengal 2-0 as East Bengal qualify for AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27 knockouts
East Bengal lost 2-0 to North Korea’s April 25 at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan Stadium in the City of Joy on April 25 in the final group-stage match of the AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27. The result came after early and second-half goals by the visitors and left East Bengal without a goal in the game.
April 25 opened the scoring inside the first two minutes when Han Jin-hong struck less than 120 seconds into the match. Oh, Sol-song doubled the lead in the 43rd minute, minutes before halftime. East Bengal continued to press for a response but the North Korean defence held firm to complete a clean sheet. The fixture was the concluding game of Group B’s group-stage schedule.
The club’s social media account posted: "Full Time!! East Bengal FC 0-2 4.25 SC! East Bengal qualify for the knockout stage of the AFC Women's Champions League 2026-27 despite falling to a 2-0 loss in the final group stage game! #IndianFootball #EBFC pic.twitter.com/CXRENwJfcL" This confirmed East Bengal’s progression from the group despite the defeat. The loss was East Bengal’s second consecutive reverse in the group.
Group B final standings placed April 25 top with 9 points after winning all three of their matches. April 25 scored 10 goals across three games and conceded just one. South Korea’s Hwacheon KSPO finished second in the group with six points.
East Bengal ended Group B in third place with 3 points, while Hồ Chí Minh City recorded three successive defeats and finished bottom. Despite the late losses, East Bengal qualified as one of the best third-ranked teams. Myanmar champions Ayeyawady were level on points with East Bengal, but "the Moshal Girls had a relatively superior goal difference."
After three matchweeks the competition’s top eight teams for the knockout phase have been determined. Two North Korean sides, Naegohyang and April 25, have qualified for the quarter-finals. Uzbek outfit Nasaf and Australian side Melbourne City are also among the teams noted for the knockout stages.
East Bengal will take part in the knockout stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27 following their third-place qualification from Group B. Quarter-final places include April 25 and Naegohyang among the sides already through.
