Gamba Osaka suffered a painful defeat in their away match against Kashima Antlers, a team that had been struggling to break a difficult winning streak in the league and was aiming for just three points. They failed to secure a win in the first match of their nine-game stretch of official competitions, but the next battle is coming without a break.

With only three days' rest, Gamba will face Newcastle Jets in the ACL Elite league stage.

Gamba is currently in second place in Group EAST, where eight teams advance to the knockout stage. While the general strategy in Asian competitions is to win at home and at least draw away, all that's required of Gamba right now is victory. "This is only the first match of a nine-game stretch, and the next one is a different Asian competition, so we want to win that one and build momentum," Abe said, understanding the significance of an away win.

As Head Coach Myojin said in the pre-match press conference, "We're in a somewhat difficult situation because we haven't been getting the results we wanted in the league, but there are also aspects of the game that we feel we've made progress in," now is the time to fight with only our eyes on the future. In the match against Kashima, we conceded a painful goal from a throw-in just before the end of the first half, but in Asian competitions where there are many players with the ability to score a goal, we cannot afford to show any weaknesses.

The memory of overcoming the tough schedule and high temperatures and humidity in the ACL Two away matches through a total effort remains with the entire team. "Given such a tight schedule and the situation we're in right now, the important thing is to play with confidence,"JEBALI said, describing their mindset for the match against Newcastle Jets.
The ideal scenario is to win the ball back high up the pitch and then effectively break through the opponent's defense, but whether it's a set piece or an opponent's mistake, the only option is to persistently break through the opponent's defense.

Of particular interest is Adams, who will be facing his former club for the first time this season. Coach Myojin said, "He did very well at Newcastle Head Coach and I know he's a popular player, so I think he'll probably get a chance to play," and if he does get on the pitch, Adams is sure to show his strength against his former teammates.

For Newcastle Jets, this will be their first appearance on Asia's top stage since competing in the ACL, the predecessor of the current league, in 2009. They lost their first league stage match away to Kashima 1-7, but Newcastle Jets, who were in the A-League preseason at the time, will have their opening match just four days after their game against Gamba, so they should be highly motivated.
Adams also played for the A-League Men in the 2025-26 season, where they finished first in the regular season. The team is now Head Coach by Mark Milligan, who also played for Chiba in the J2 League. Having conceded a lot of goals in their first match and currently sitting at the bottom of Group EAST, they may defend tenaciously, but JEBALI emphasized that "this will be a match where we can really show how capable we are."
All that remains is for Gamba to demonstrate their resilience and true worth on the Asian stage.