"Our last goal is to reach the ACL"… Daejeon vs. Incheon, a 6-point showdown for 6th place in Final A
Daejeon Hana Citizen will try to hold on to 6th place away at Incheon on the 20th. The gap between the two teams is 2 points. If Incheon win, the standings flip, and Daejeon's Bapsin has scored in 3 straight official matches.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
"Our last goal is to reach the ACL… we have to achieve it." That is what Daejeon manager Hwang Sun-hong (58) said after beating Bucheon 5-0 on September 5. The Incheon away match stands on the road to that goal. At stake is whether Daejeon can extend, on the road as well, the 4-match unbeaten run in official matches that began after their loss to Jeju, or whether Incheon can overturn the Final A cutoff line in this one match.
Daejeon vs. Incheon at 7 p.m. on September 20, 6th and 7th place separated by 2 points
Incheon Ilbo reports that the match will be played at 7 p.m. on September 20 at Incheon Football Stadium. The broadcast schedule has not yet been confirmed. Etoday figures show Daejeon in 6th with 39 points from 29 matches and Incheon in 7th with 37 points from 28 matches (as of 2026.09.18). If Daejeon win, the gap grows to 5 points; if they lose, the standings flip.
Both teams' points by result (our calculation, added to points as of 2026.09.18)
| Match result | Daejeon points | Incheon points | Team ahead of the two |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daejeon win | 42 | 37 | Daejeon (+5) |
| Draw | 40 | 38 | Daejeon (+2) |
| Incheon win | 39 | 40 | Incheon (+1) |
K League 1 top standings (as of 2026.09.13, Yonhap News)
| Rank | Team | Points | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Seoul | 62 | 19W 5D 5L |
| 2 | Ulsan HD | 47 | 14W 5D 10L |
| 3 | Jeonbuk Hyundai | 43 | 11W 10D 8L |
| 4 | Jeju SK | 43 | Separated from 3rd place on goals scored |
| 5 | Team name not cross-verified | 42 | - |
| 6 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 39 | 10W 9D 10L |
| 7 | Incheon United | 37 | 10W 7D 11L (28 matches) |
Bapsin scores in 3 straight matches; 11 goals scored and 4 conceded in official matches since the Jeju loss
Daejeon's last 5 official matches
| Date | Opponent (competition) | Score | Daejeon scorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | Away at Jeju SK (K League 1) | 1-3 loss | Seo Jin-su |
| September 5 | Away at Bucheon FC 1995 (K League 1) | 5-0 win | Masa, Diogo, Jung Jae-hee 2, Cho Sung-kwon |
| September 9 | Home vs. FC Anyang (K League 1) | 3-2 win | Joo Min-kyu 2 (1 PK), Bapsin |
| September 12 | Home vs. Pohang Steelers (K League 1) | 2-2 draw | Bapsin, Lee Myung-jae |
| September 15 | Home vs. Kyoto Sanga (ACLE) | 1-0 win | Bapsin |
Combining the scores of the four matches since the Jeju loss gives 3 wins and 1 draw, with 11 goals scored and 4 conceded. The "9-match unbeaten run" that some cite is not true. They lost 1-3 away at Jeju on August 30, and Seo Jin-su (25) scored one goal in that match. The scorer of the equalizer against Pohang is listed differently depending on the outlet, as Lee Myung-jae or Lee Young-jae. The most notable player in this stretch is defensive midfielder Bapsin (26). Starting with the Anyang match, he has scored in 3 consecutive matches.
Bapsin is a Brazilian player born on January 12, 2000. He joined the Gremio youth academy in 2012 and made his professional debut at Gremio in 2021. He then moved to Santa Clara in Portugal, and during his loan at Daegu FC he played under the name "Beltola." He joined Daejeon on loan in July 2024 and was signed permanently in December of the same year. According to FotMob, he has 4 goals in 35 matches for Daejeon, but it is unconfirmed whether that figure includes the Kyoto goal.
First Asian win in 23 years, but an away match five days later makes fitness a variable
Dailian reports that the September 15 match against Kyoto Sanga ended 1-0 on a Bapsin goal in the 33rd minute of the second half. Top Star News reported that it was Daejeon's first appearance in an Asian club competition in 23 years, since the 2002-03 season when the club was Daejeon Citizen. To be precise, it is the club's first win in an Asian club competition in 23 years and its first win in the ACLE, which launched in the 2024-25 season. There are only five days between the Kyoto match and the Incheon away match, so fitness and rotation are cited as key issues.
Mugosa is 2nd in scoring with 12 goals; head-to-head favors Daejeon with 3 wins and 1 draw
Incheon have a reliable scorer. According to Etoday, the league picked Mugosa as its player to watch for Round 30. He is 2nd in scoring this season with 12 goals and 1 assist and has scored in two straight matches, so he will go for his 13th goal against Daejeon. Incheon Ilbo reported that manager Yoon Jung-hwan plans to target the space behind Daejeon's defense with a Mugosa and Jerso pairing. Daejeon are a team that fell behind 0-2 against Pohang.
Daejeon lead the head-to-head record. They have met twice this season, with 1 win and 1 draw, and the first meeting was a 3-1 away win at Incheon. FourFourTwo counted the record in the last 4 meetings with Incheon as 3 wins and 1 draw. Incheon have played one fewer match than Daejeon. The standings and points are as of September 18, so they will change depending on the Round 30 results. After the Kyoto match, manager Hwang Sun-hong said: "We desperately wanted to win… To reach the top level in Asia, we need to improve our tempo."
Frequently asked questions
Q. When is the Daejeon vs. Incheon match?
It will be played at 7 p.m. on September 20, 2026, at Incheon Football Stadium. It is a K League 1 Round 30 match. The broadcast channel had not been confirmed as of the time this article was written.
Q. What is the head-to-head record between Daejeon and Incheon?
Daejeon have the edge. They have not lost to Incheon at all this season (1 win, 1 draw), and even widening the view to the last 4 matches per FourFourTwo's count, they are unbeaten with 3 wins and 1 draw.
Q. How old is Bapsin?
Born on January 12, 2000, he is 26 years old. He is a Brazilian midfielder and wears No. 26 for Daejeon. He won the 2017 South American U-17 Championship with Brazil.
Related official sites
- Daejeon Hana Citizen official website — club schedule, squad news, ticketing information
- K League official website - Daejeon Hana Citizen club page — official match records and standings
- K League tournament guidelines (official) — competition rules, including the Final A/B split format
Featured image · Archive photo · Not an on-site photo of the current match in the article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (user: Jujeonja), CC BY-SA 3.0
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