2017 AFC Cup group stage

The 2017 AFC Cup group stage was played from 20 February to 31 May 2017.[1] A total of 34 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 11 places in the knockout stage of the 2017 AFC Cup.[2]

Draw

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The draw for the group stage was held on 13 December 2016, 14:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the Hilton Petaling Jaya in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.[3][4][5] The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone could not be drawn into the same group.[6]

Due to the withdrawal of teams in the ASEAN Zone and the East Asia Zone after the draw, only 34 teams competed in the group stage, with Groups H and I having only three teams.

The seeding of each team in the draw was determined by their association and their qualifying position within their association. The mechanism of the draw was as follows:[6]

  • For the West Asia Zone, a draw was held for the five associations with two direct entrants (Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon) to determine the three associations occupying seeds 1 and 2, with seeds 1 placed in order for Groups A, B and C, and the two associations occupying seeds 3 and 4, with seeds 3 placed in order for Groups A and B. The remaining teams were then allocated to groups according to the rules set by AFC.
  • For the ASEAN Zone, a draw was held for the four associations with two direct entrants (Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines) to determine the three associations occupying seeds 1 and 2, with seeds 1 placed in order for Groups F, G and H, and the one association occupying seeds 3 and 4, with seed 3 placed in Group F. The remaining teams were then allocated to the groups according to the rules set by AFC.
  • For the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, no draw was held, and the teams were allocated to the groups according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016.

The following 34 teams entered into the group stage draw, which included the 29 direct entrants and the five winners of the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs, whose identity were not known at the time of the draw.[3][6] Originally there were 30 direct entrants and six winners of the play-off round, but there were one fewer direct entrant in the ASEAN Zone due to the withdrawal of one team, and the East Asia Zone qualifying play-offs were not played due to the withdrawal of three teams.

Zone Groups Seed 1 Seed 2 Seed 3 Seed 4
West Asia Zone A–C   Al-Zawraa[note 1]   Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya[note 1]   Al-Jaish[note 1]   Al-Wahda[note 1]
  Al-Hidd[note 1]   Al-Muharraq[note 1]   Safa[note 1]   Nejmeh[note 1]
  Al-Wehdat[note 1]   Al-Ahli[note 1]   Saham   Al-Suwaiq (Play-off West Asia)
Central Asia Zone D   Istiklol   Altyn Asyr   Alay Osh   Dordoi (Play-off Central Asia)
South Asia Zone E   Bengaluru FC   Maziya   Abahani Limited Dhaka   Mohun Bagan (Play-off South Asia)
ASEAN Zone F–H   Johor Darul Ta'zim[note 2]   FELDA United[note 2]   Global Cebu[note 2]   Ceres–Negros[note 2]
  Hà Nội[note 2]   Than Quảng Ninh[note 2]   Tampines Rovers   Home United (Play-off ASEAN 1)
  Yadanarbon[note 2]   Magwe[note 2]   Lanexang United[note 3]   Boeung Ket Angkor (Play-off ASEAN 2)
East Asia Zone I   April 25   Rovers[note 4]   Taipower
  Kigwancha[note 4]
(Play-off East Asia)
  Erchim[note 4]
Standby teams[note 5]

Format

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In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advanced to the knockout stage:

  • The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advanced to the Zonal semi-finals.
  • The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

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The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):[2]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  5. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  6. Goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  9. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  10. Team from the higher-ranked association.

Schedule

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The schedule of each matchday was as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).[1] Matches in the West Asia Zone were played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, the ASEAN Zone, and the East Asia Zone were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Matchday Dates Matches
W, A C, S, E
Matchday 1 20–22 February 2017 14 March 2017 Team 1 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 2
Matchday 2 6–8 March 2017 4 April 2017 Team 4 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 1
Matchday 3 13–15 March 2017 18–19 April 2017 Team 4 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 3
Matchday 4 3–5 April 2017 3 May 2017 Team 2 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 1
Matchday 5 17–19 April 2017 17 May 2017 Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 2 vs. Team 3
Matchday 6 1–3 May 2017 31 May 2017 Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4

Groups

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ZAW JAI AHL SUW
1   Al-Zawraa 6 3 3 0 9 3 +6 12 Zonal semi-finals 3–1 1–1 0–0
2   Al-Jaish 6 3 0 3 6 9 −3 9 0–3 1–0 1–2
3   Al-Ahli 6 1 3 2 5 6 −1 6 1–1 1–2 2–1
4   Al-Suwaiq 6 1 2 3 3 5 −2 5 0–1 0–1 0–0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Al-Jaish  1–0  Al-Ahli
  • Hamdoko   24'
Report
Al-Zawraa  0–0  Al-Suwaiq
Report
Attendance: 100
Referee: Timur Faizullin (Kyrgyzstan)

Al-Suwaiq  0–1  Al-Jaish
Report
Al-Ahli  1–1  Al-Zawraa
Report

Al-Suwaiq  0–0  Al-Ahli
Report
Al-Zawraa  3–1  Al-Jaish
Report

Al-Ahli  2–1  Al-Suwaiq
Report
Al-Jaish  0–3  Al-Zawraa
Report

Al-Suwaiq  0–1  Al-Zawraa
Report
Al-Ahli  1–2  Al-Jaish
Report

Al-Zawraa  1–1  Al-Ahli
Report
Al-Jaish  1–2  Al-Suwaiq
Report

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification QUW WAH HID SAF
1   Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6 3 3 0 6 2 +4 12 Zonal semi-finals 1–1 2–1 2–0
2   Al-Wahda 6 3 2 1 10 3 +7 11 0–0 0–2 2–0
3   Al-Hidd 6 3 0 3 8 5 +3 9 0–1 0–1 3–1
4   Safa 6 0 1 5 1 15 −14 1 0–0 0–6 0–2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Safa  0–0  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Report
Al-Hidd  0–1  Al-Wahda
Report

Al-Wahda  2–0  Safa
Report
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya  2–1  Al-Hidd
Report

Al-Wahda  0–0  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Report
Al-Hidd  3–1  Safa
Report

Safa  0–2  Al-Hidd
Report
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya  1–1  Al-Wahda
Report

Al-Wahda  0–2  Al-Hidd
Report
Attendance: 23
Referee: Timur Faizullin (Kyrgyzstan)
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya  2–0  Safa
Report

Safa  0–6  Al-Wahda
Report
Al-Hidd  0–1  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Report

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WEH MUH SAH NEJ
1   Al-Wehdat 6 3 3 0 9 6 +3 12 Zonal semi-finals 3–2 2–1 1–0
2   Al-Muharraq 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10 1–1 1–0 1–0
3   Saham 6 2 1 3 9 9 0 7 1–1 3–2 3–1
4   Nejmeh 6 1 1 4 5 9 −4 4 1–1 1–2 2–1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Saham  3–2  Al-Muharraq
Report
Al-Wehdat  1–0  Nejmeh
Report

Nejmeh  2–1  Saham
Report
Al-Muharraq  1–1  Al-Wehdat
Report

Nejmeh  1–2  Al-Muharraq
Report
Al-Wehdat  2–1  Saham
Report
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Saham  1–1  Al-Wehdat
Report Faisal   84'
Al-Muharraq  1–0  Nejmeh
Report

Nejmeh  1–1  Al-Wehdat
Report
Attendance: 2,800
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)
Al-Muharraq  1–0  Saham
Report

Al-Wehdat  3–2  Al-Muharraq
Report
Saham  3–1  Nejmeh
Report

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification IST ALT DOR ALA
1   Istiklol 6 5 1 0 15 4 +11 16 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 1–0 2–0 3–1
2   Altyn Asyr 6 4 1 1 12 4 +8 13 1–1 3–0 4–1
3   Dordoi 6 1 0 5 6 16 −10 3[a] 1–4 0–2 1–0
4   Alay Osh 6 1 0 5 9 18 −9 3[a] 1–4 1–2 5–4
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Dordoi 1–0 Alay Osh, Alay Osh 5–4 Dordoi (Dordoi won on away goals).
Alay Osh  1–2  Altyn Asyr
Report
Attendance: 5,000
Istiklol  2–0  Dordoi
Report

Dordoi  1–0  Alay Osh
  • Azizov   87'
Report
Altyn Asyr  1–1  Istiklol
Report

Dordoi  0–2  Altyn Asyr
Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)
Istiklol  3–1  Alay Osh
Report
Attendance: 14,500

Alay Osh  1–4  Istiklol
Report
Attendance: 3,000
Altyn Asyr  3–0  Dordoi
Report

Altyn Asyr  4–1  Alay Osh
Report
Dordoi  1–4  Istiklol
Report

Alay Osh  5–4  Dordoi
Report
Attendance: 1,500
Istiklol  1–0  Altyn Asyr
Report
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BFC MAZ MOH ABD
1   Bengaluru FC 6 4 0 2 7 6 +1 12[a] Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 1–0 2–1 2–0
2   Maziya 6 4 0 2 10 4 +6 12[a] 0–1 5–2 2–0
3   Mohun Bagan 6 2 1 3 10 11 −1 7 3–1 0–1 3–1
4   Abahani Limited Dhaka 6 1 1 4 4 10 −6 4 2–0 0–2 1–1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Maziya 0–1 Bengaluru FC, Bengaluru FC 1–0 Maziya.
Abahani Limited Dhaka  0–2  Maziya
Report
Bengaluru FC  2–1  Mohun Bagan
Report

Maziya  0–1  Bengaluru FC
Report
Mohun Bagan  3–1  Abahani Limited Dhaka
Report

Bengaluru FC  2–0  Abahani Limited Dhaka
Report
Mohun Bagan  0–1  Maziya
Report

Maziya  5–2  Mohun Bagan
Report
Abahani Limited Dhaka  2–0  Bengaluru FC
Report

Maziya  2–0  Abahani Limited Dhaka
Report
Mohun Bagan  3–1  Bengaluru FC
Report

Bengaluru FC  1–0  Maziya
Report
Abahani Limited Dhaka  1–1  Mohun Bagan
  • Onuoha   8'
Report

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GLO JDT BKA MAG
1   Global Cebu 6 5 0 1 13 9 +4 15 Zonal semi-finals 3–2 3–1 1−0
2   Johor Darul Ta'zim 6 4 1 1 16 5 +11 13 4–0 3–0 3–1
3   Boeung Ket Angkor 6 1 1 4 3 12 −9 4 0–2 0–3 1–0
4   Magwe 6 0 2 4 5 11 −6 2 2–4 1–1 1–1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Global Cebu  1–0  Magwe
Report
Johor Darul Ta'zim  3–0  Boeung Ket Angkor
Report
Attendance: 9,850
Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)

Magwe  1–1  Johor Darul Ta'zim
Report
Boeung Ket Angkor  0–2  Global Cebu
Report

Boeung Ket Angkor  1–0  Magwe
Report
Johor Darul Ta'zim  4–0  Global Cebu
Report

Magwe  1–1  Boeung Ket Angkor
Report
Global Cebu  3–2  Johor Darul Ta'zim
Report

Magwe  2–4  Global Cebu
Report
Boeung Ket Angkor  0–3  Johor Darul Ta'zim
Report
Attendance: 1,277

Johor Darul Ta'zim  3–1  Magwe
Report
  • Kyaw Swar Linn   3'
Attendance: 10,190
Global Cebu  3–1  Boeung Ket Angkor
Report

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CER HAN TAM FEL
1   Ceres–Negros 6 3 2 1 16 8 +8 11[a] Zonal semi-finals 6–2 5–0 0–0
2   Hà Nội 6 3 2 1 14 10 +4 11[a] 1–1 4–0 4–1
3   Tampines Rovers 6 2 0 4 8 17 −9 6 2–4 1–2 2–1
4   FELDA United 6 1 2 3 7 10 −3 5 3–0 1–1 1–3
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Hà Nội 1–1 Ceres–Negros, Ceres–Negros 6–2 Hà Nội.
Hà Nội  1–1  Ceres–Negros
Report
Tampines Rovers  2–1  FELDA United
Report
Attendance: 1,277
Referee: Takuto Okabe (Japan)

FELDA United  1–1  Hà Nội
Report
Ceres–Negros  5–0  Tampines Rovers
Report

Hà Nội  4–0  Tampines Rovers
Report
Ceres–Negros  0–0  FELDA United
Report
Attendance: 8,965
Referee: Wang Di (China)

FELDA United  3–0  Ceres–Negros
Report
Tampines Rovers  1–2  Hà Nội
Report

Ceres–Negros  6–2  Hà Nội
Report
FELDA United  1–3  Tampines Rovers
Report

Hà Nội  4–1  FELDA United
Report
Attendance: 1,800
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)
Tampines Rovers  2–4  Ceres–Negros
Report

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HOM TQN YAD
1   Home United 4 3 0 1 12 8 +4 9 Zonal semi-finals 3–2 4–1
2   Than Quảng Ninh 4 1 1 2 10 9 +1 4[a] 4–5 1–1
3   Yadanarbon 4 1 1 2 3 8 −5 4[a] 1–0 0–3
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Than Quảng Ninh 1–1 Yadanarbon, Yadanarbon 0–3 Than Quảng Ninh.
Yadanarbon  1–0  Home United
Report

Than Quảng Ninh  1–1  Yadanarbon
Report

Home United  3–2  Than Quảng Ninh
Report

Than Quảng Ninh  4–5  Home United
Report

Home United  4–1  Yadanarbon
Report

Yadanarbon  0–3  Than Quảng Ninh
Report

Group I

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification APR KIG ERC
1   April 25 4 2 2 0 14 3 +11 8[a] Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 1–1 6–0
2   Kigwancha 4 2 2 0 13 3 +10 8[a] 2–2 7–0
3   Erchim 4 0 0 4 0 21 −21 0 0–5 0–3
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: April 25 1–1 Kigwancha, Kigwancha 2–2 April 25 (April 25 won on away goals).
April 25  6–0  Erchim
  • Kim Yu-song   12', 22', 24', 31', 59'
  • Om Chol-song   77'
Report

Erchim  0–3  Kigwancha
Report

April 25  1–1  Kigwancha
  • Pak Myong-song   45'
Report

Kigwancha  2–2  April 25
Report
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Zhang Lei (China)

Erchim  0–5  April 25
Report

Kigwancha  7–0  Erchim
Report
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Wang Di (China)

Ranking of second-placed teams

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West Asia Zone

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Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B   Al-Wahda 6 3 2 1 10 3 +7 11 Zonal semi-finals
2 C   Al-Muharraq 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10
3 A   Al-Jaish 6 3 0 3 6 9 −3 9
Source: AFC

ASEAN Zone

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Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F   Johor Darul Ta'zim 4 3 0 1 12 3 +9 9 Zonal semi-finals
2 G   Hà Nội 4 2 1 1 9 8 +1 7
3 H   Than Quảng Ninh 4 1 1 2 10 9 +1 4
Source: AFC
Note: Due to Group H having only three teams, the results against the fourth-placed teams in Groups F and G are not considered for this ranking.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The seeding of the first and second group stage teams from Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain, and Lebanon were determined by draw.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h The seeding of the first and second group stage teams from Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Philippines were determined by draw.
  3. ^ Lanexang United (Laos) withdrew from the group stage after the draw (originally drawn in Group H), and were not replaced, and only 11 teams competed in the ASEAN Zone group stage.[7]
  4. ^ a b c Rovers (Guam) and Taipower (Chinese Taipei) withdrew from the group stage after the draw (both originally drawn in Group I), and Tatung (Chinese Taipei) withdrew from the qualifying play-offs,[8] and thus Kigwancha (North Korea) and Erchim (Mongolia) advanced directly from the play-off round and preliminary round respectively to the group stage to replace them, and only three teams competed in the East Asia Zone group stage, and the East Asia Zone qualifying play-offs were not played.
  5. ^ The standby teams would replace a team from the same association which played in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage. There were no standby teams from Bahrain (for Al-Hidd).
  6. ^ a b c d e f Teams from Syria are not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Teams from Iraq are not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

References

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  1. ^ a b "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017" (PDF). AFC.
  2. ^ a b "2017 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b "Stage set for AFC Cup 2017 draw". AFC. 12 December 2016.
  4. ^ "AFC Cup 2017: Official Draw". YouTube. 13 December 2016.
  5. ^ "AFC Cup contenders learn 2017 opponents". AFC. 14 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "AFC Cup 2017 Draw Mechanism" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  7. ^ "Lanexang United pull out of AFC Cup". Fox Sport Asia. 24 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  8. ^ "2017亞足聯盃 台電、大同都不參賽". ETNews. 7 February 2017.
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