East Bengal becomes first Indian club to qualify for AFC Women’s Champions League knockouts

East Bengal on Saturday became the first Indian club to qualify for the AFC Women’s Champions League knockouts. The side went down 0-2 to North Korea’s 4.25 SC. However, the Moshal Girls maintained a goal difference that was enough to seal a quarterfinal berth in the 2026-27 season as one of the two best third-placed teams. Earlier, the side had suffered a 1-4 loss to South Korea’s Hwacheon KSPO WFC after its 2-1 win against Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. East Bengal, the IWL defending champion, had missed the knockouts last year by the barest of margins.