Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan were eliminated from the Asian Champions League group stage on Wednesday after losing 2-1 to Hanoi FC in their final encounter.
The three-time champions needed to win to advance, but they fell behind early in the second half and were eliminated by Hanoi in Vietnam.
Bryan Linssen equalised in the 65th minute, but Pham Tuan Hai scored from the penalty spot three minutes later to eliminate the Japanese team from the competition.
Urawa, who defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in May to win the title last season, now has no chance of competing in continental competition next season.
On Sunday, Sanfrecce Hiroshima pipped them to third place in the domestic J-League with a 96th-minute goal on the last day, denying them participation.
“It’s a very difficult result to accept — we needed to win tonight if we wanted to repeat as champions,” Urawa keeper Shusaku Nishikawa remarked.
“We wanted to win and it’s frustrating that we couldn’t do that for the fans who came here to support us.”
Even a win would not have sufficed for Urawa, who entered the game assured to finish second in their group behind South Korea’s Pohang Steelers.
They appeared to be on their way when, in the 10th minute, they were given a penalty for a handball by Hanoi’s Dao Van Nam.
However, custodian Nguyen Van Hoang made a great save to his left to deny Danish defender Alexander Scholz.
Dao made amends for his error by putting Hanoi ahead from close range after a corner in the 53rd minute.
Linssen, a Dutch striker, equalised Takuya Ogiwara’s cross, but Ogiwara then dragged down Nguyen Hai Long, giving Hanoi a penalty that Pham smashed home.
“I wasn’t able to help the team out by saving that late penalty and that’s something for me to reflect on,” Nishikawa told the media.
In the day’s only other game, Pohang drew 1-1 with China’s Wuhan Three Towns.