Gwangju: Gwangju FC will face Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the AFC revealed the results of the quarterfinals draw on Monday. Gwangju FC, the only South Korean side alive in the top AFC club tournament, will face Al Hilal on April 25.
In the league phase and the round of 16, teams in the East and West regions only faced teams from their own areas. But from the quarterfinals and on, clubs from the opposite regions will face each other.
The quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the championship final will all be one-and-done showdowns. They will be played in Saudi Arabia as the centralized host country from April 25 to May 4.
The winner of the Gwangju-Al Hilal match will face either Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia or Buriram United of Thailand in the semifinals on April 29.
Al Hilal, with 19 Saudi league titles and four AFC Champions League crowns to their name, boast a squad featuring Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Joao Cancelo, and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Under head coach Lee Jung-hyo in recent years, Gwangju FC have earned a reputation as a club often punching above their weight. In the round of 16 at the AFC tournament, they lost the first leg against Vissel Kobe 2-0 but took the second leg 3-0 to advance.