JDT ACL Elite 2026/27: Results, Format, Next Match

JDT opened their AFC Champions League Elite 2026/27 campaign with a 1–1 home draw against Buriram United, then won 2–0 away to FC Pohang Steelers.[9][3] Their next ACL Elite match is scheduled at home against Port FC on 27 October 2026 at 18:00 MYT.[5][7]

Source review: 14 October 2026. The table below is a timestamped snapshot; future fixture details may change.

JDT’s first two results

Against Buriram, Oscar Arribas opened the scoring in the 26th minute before Stefan Schimmer equalised in the 43rd.[9] Neil Etheridge then saved Bergson’s late penalty, leaving JDT with a point despite the chance to win their opener.[9] Both sides finished with ten men, so the draw should not be reduced to a simple account of JDT failing to break down a full-strength defence.[9]

Pohang brought the first win of the campaign.[3] Marcos Guilherme scored in the 49th and 89th minutes after Pohang captain Jeon Min-gwang was sent off before half-time.[3] His second goal came from the rebound after a Bergson effort was saved.[3] The away victory and clean sheet stand; the opposition’s numerical disadvantage also belongs in any assessment of the performance.

Where JDT stood on 14 October

At 23:55 MYT on 14 October 2026, JDT were sixth in the East, with four points from two matches.[5] All 16 East clubs had played two matches in this completed Matchday 2 table.[5]

This makes sixth a time-specific position after two games, not a prediction of qualification. The League Stage still has six scheduled matches per club, so the next results can change the order.[5][11]

Shanghai Port sat above JDT despite sharing four points and a +2 goal difference: they had scored seven goals to JDT’s three.[5] The ranking order begins with points, then goal difference, then goals scored, then wins.[11] A points per game calculation is not appropriate for this table: Article 8.4 applies only after completion of the League Stage if clubs have played unequal numbers of matches.[11]

How the 2026/27 format works

The amended regulations, approved on 29 April 2026, put 32 clubs in the League Stage: 16 in the East and 16 in the West.[11] Each club plays eight different opponents, with four home and four away games; clubs from the same member association cannot meet in this stage.[11] Being in the same regional table therefore does not mean playing every other club, or having a return fixture against each opponent.[11]

JDT’s Malaysia Super League campaign is a separate competition: these standings measure only their continental programme, not their domestic results.

The top eight in each region advance at the end of the League Stage; clubs finishing ninth to 16th are eliminated.[11] There is no seventh-to-tenth-place playoff in 2026/27: the AFC’s expansion announcement deferred that proposal, and the amended rules retain top-eight qualification.[13][11] An expanded field should not be mistaken for an extra route into the knockouts this season.

The Round of 16 uses two legs within the same region, paired 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5.[11] The higher-ranked club hosts the second leg, in principle and subject to Article 11.[11] The eight winners then enter quarter-finals with cross-regional pairings decided by a draw, as part of the centralised Finals.[11] Finishing position thus matters beyond simply getting above the qualification line: it determines the first knockout pairing.[11]

Next match: Port FC at home

This is the fixture as scheduled on 14 October 2026; details may change, so check the AFC fixture listing before making plans.[5][7] The opponent is Port FC of Thailand, not Shanghai Port of China, the club immediately above JDT in the saved table.[5]

For this home match, Malaysia time and venue time are the same: 18:00 means 6pm in Malaysia.[5][7] When following later away fixtures, check whether the AFC hub is showing “Your Time” or “Venue Time” rather than assuming every displayed kickoff is Malaysian time.[5]

After Port, the schedule takes JDT away to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on 3 November and Ratchaburi on 24 November, then home to Daejeon Hana Citizen on 1 December 2026.[5] The remaining league fixtures are away to Newcastle Jets on 9 February, then home to Cong An Ha Noi on 16 February 2027.[5] Those are scheduled league matches, not evidence that JDT have already reached the knockout rounds.

What the opening two games tell us

JDT are unbeaten with four points, three goals scored and one conceded from their opening two matches.[5] That is a useful start, not a qualification prediction. The Buriram draw turned on an unconverted late penalty; the Pohang win followed an opposition dismissal before either JDT goal.[9][3] Those details make the results more informative than the scorelines alone, while limiting any sweeping claim about performance against eleven players.

JDT’s history of domestic dominance supplies the background, but league trophies cannot settle this campaign’s qualification race. The practical next checkpoint is Port: another result to add to the same East table, not a final judgement on JDT’s place in Asian football.