East Bengal suffered a heavy 1-4 defeat against South Korean side Hwacheon KSPO in their second Group B fixture of the AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27 at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Despite taking the lead through Fazila Ikwaput and going into the half-time break level at 1-1, the Moshal Girls struggled to contain Hwacheon’s second-half attacking surge. The result lifted the Korean outfit to three points, drawing level with East Bengal in the group standings.

East Bengal started brightly but were initially put under pressure by Hwacheon’s attacking intent. Choi Jeong-min and Lee Su-bin both threatened the home defence before Ikwaput missed an opportunity in the 15th minute after being set up by captain Shilky Devi Hemam.

The Ugandan forward made amends two minutes later, using her pace to beat defender Kim Ji-hyeon before finishing into the bottom corner to give East Bengal the advantage.

However, Hwacheon restored parity in the 26th minute. Su-bin’s indirect free-kick took a deflection off Resty Nanziri and rolled past goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu Elangbam to make it 1-1.

The visitors raised their intensity after the restart. Following a Football Video Support review, Hwacheon were awarded a free-kick after a foul involving Hitomi Tanaka and Jeong-min. Wie Jae-eun converted in the 53rd minute to put the Korean side ahead.

Hwacheon doubled their advantage just three minutes later when Jeong-min delivered a cross from the left for Mun Eun-ju to finish.

East Bengal struggled to recover as the visitors continued to exploit spaces in their defence. Wie completed her brace in the 76th minute, racing onto Kim Hyeon-a’s through ball before calmly slotting past Panthoi to seal a convincing victory.

East Bengal’s Qualification Scenario

The defeat leaves East Bengal third in Group B with three points and a goal difference of -2. Their final group-stage assignment will be against DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC on Saturday. The North Korean side have already secured one of the two automatic quarter-final qualification spots.

A draw against 4.25 SC would guarantee East Bengal a place in the quarter-finals. Even a defeat could be enough if they finish among the two best third-placed teams across the groups.

The Moshal Girls could also secure qualification before kick-off if Saturday’s Group A encounter between Iran’s Bam Khatoon FC and Myanmar’s Ayeyawady FC ends in a draw.