Zhang Yuning and two other internationals to miss ACL; Beijing Guoan face personnel losses and reinforcements

On the night of September 5 at Pudong Football Stadium, the Chinese Super League's Round 26 Beijing-Shanghai clash ended with an unexpected score.

Shanghai Port started five foreign players with Wu Lei on the bench; Guoan's four foreign players did not appear, leaving only Guilherme Ramos in the starting lineup.

After 90 minutes, the match ended 0-0.

Port had 21 shots and 6 on target, while Guoan had 5 shots and 2 on target. Port led corners 14-1 and possession 60%-40%. Hou Sen made five saves and was named player of the match.

Guoan fell from second to third with 38 points. Qingdao West Coast also had 38 points in fourth and Shandong Taishan had 37 in fifth, with only three points separating second to sixth.

The race for an AFC qualification place remains close, but Guoan have shifted focus to the ACL.

At 20:15 on September 15, Beijing Guoan will host Pohang Steelers at Workers' Stadium in the first round of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Elite.

The ACL Elite East Asia region uses a Swiss-system format with 16 teams and eight matches per team. Guoan's schedule has been set.

Tickets for Guoan's four home ACL matches have gone on sale, with four tiers priced at 1,299, 1,099, 719 and 479 yuan.

Before the match, Guoan received three player availability setbacks, none caused by injuries.

The first absence is Zhang Yuning.

China's Asian Games squad was announced with U23 players plus three overage selections: Wu Xi, Zhang Yuning and Zhu Chenjie. Zhang is the only Guoan player.

China are grouped with Iran, North Korea and the UAE, and the team assembled on September 7.

Guoan play Pohang on September 15 while China start against North Korea on September 16, making Zhang unavailable.

Zhang has scored 14 goals and provided six assists this season, and his absence affects Guoan's two-striker system.

The second absence is Cao Yongjing.

In a 2025 AFC Champions League Two match against Hanoi Police, Cao was sent off for an action during a confrontation.

The AFC suspended Cao for four matches and fined him 1,500 US dollars, with the remaining three matches carried over.

Cao will therefore miss matches against Pohang, Buriram United and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

The third absence is Bai Yang.

In the final AFC Champions League Two group match in December 2025, Bai received two yellow cards and was sent off.

AFC rules state that unfinished continental suspensions carry into the next season's same-category competition.

Similar cases previously involved Shanghai Shenhua striker Laton and Esteghlal player Ahmadi.

Bai is 1.90m tall, a starting defender and a rare left-footed option, so his suspension affects Guoan's defensive setup.

The three absences come from schedule conflicts and disciplinary carryovers rather than injuries, with Guoan still paying for previous continental incidents.

Guoan also have reinforcements from the new ACL regulations.

The ACL Elite removed foreign player limits, and Guoan signed Shadrack Akolo and Jeremy Dudziak as ACL reinforcements.

Together with Nkololo and their existing CSL foreign players, Guoan can use eight foreign players in the ACL.

Fabio and Akolo can form a forward partnership, while Dudziak can play midfield or full-back. Montgomery said Abreu's absence against Port was to avoid unnecessary risk.

Conte was unavailable because of a fourth yellow card suspension and a groin injury.

The single-foreign-player lineup against Port was not Guoan's actual squad depth but a deliberate adjustment for the ACL period.

Pohang have nine wins, four draws and 11 losses in 24 K League matches this season, ranking seventh. Guoan have a historical record of one win and one draw against them.

Chinese teams struggled in last season's ACL Elite. This season Guoan and Port enter the Elite competition, while Shenhua play ACL Two.

Guoan must also manage the FA Cup schedule, facing Shanghai Port in the semifinal.

At 20:15 on September 15, Workers' Stadium hosts Guoan's opening ACL Elite match against Pohang Steelers.

The match is the first round of the East Asia region's 16-team, eight-round Swiss-system competition.