2018 AFC Cup knockout stage

The 2018 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 7 May to 27 October 2018.[1] A total of 11 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2018 AFC Cup.[2]

Qualified teams

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The following teams advanced from the group stage:

  • The winners of each of the three groups and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H) advanced to the Zonal semi-finals.
  • The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I) advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.
Key to colours
Teams which enter the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals
Teams which enter the Zonal semi-finals
Zone Group Winners Best runners-up
West Asia Zone A   Al-Jazeera   Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
(Group A)
B   Al-Ahed
C   Al-Faisaly
Central Asia Zone D   Altyn Asyr
South Asia Zone E   Bengaluru
ASEAN Zone F   Home United   Ceres–Negros
(Group F)
G   Yangon United
H   Persija Jakarta
East Asia Zone I   April 25

Format

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In the knockout stage, the 11 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, except the final which was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).[2]

Schedule

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The schedule of each round was as follows (W: West Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone).[1] Matches in the West Asia Zone were played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the ASEAN Zone and the Inter-zone play-offs were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Round First leg Second leg
Zonal semi-finals 7–9 May 2018 (W, A) 14–16 May 2018 (W, A)
Zonal finals 1 August 2018 (A),
18 September 2018 (W)
8 August 2018 (A),
2 October 2018 (W)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 21–22 August 2018 28–29 August 2018
Inter-zone play-off final 19 September 2018 3 October 2018
Final 27 October 2018

Bracket

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The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:

Round Matchups
Zonal semi-finals (Matchups and order of legs determined by identity of best runners-up: first team listed host first leg, second team listed host second leg)
Zonal finals (Order of legs decided by draw)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals (Matchups and order of legs decided by draw, involving Winner Group D, Winner Group E, Winner Group I, and Winner AF)
Inter-zone play-off final (Winner IZSF1 host first leg, Winner IZSF2 host second leg)
  • IZF: Winner IZSF1 vs. Winner IZSF2
Final (Winner WF host match, as alternated from previous season's final)
  • Winner WF vs. Winner IZF

The bracket was decided after the draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, which was held on 23 May 2018, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3][4][5]

Zonal semi-finals

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Summary

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In the Zonal semi-finals, the four qualified teams from the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) played in two ties, and the four qualified teams from the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H) played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs determined by the group stage draw and the identity of the best runners-up.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Al-Jazeera   2–1   Al-Faisaly 1–1 1–0
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya   5–3   Al-Ahed 3–1 2–2
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Home United   6–3   Persija Jakarta 3–2 3–1
Ceres–Negros   6–5   Yangon United 4–2 2–3

West Asia Zone

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Al-Jazeera  1–1  Al-Faisaly
  • Al-Taamari   14'
Live Report
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Al-Faisaly  0–1  Al-Jazeera
Live Report
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Al-Jazeera won 2–1 on aggregate.


Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya  3–1  Al-Ahed
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 10,683
Al-Ahed  2–2  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Live Report
Stats Report

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 5–3 on aggregate.

ASEAN Zone

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Home United  3–2  Persija Jakarta
Live Report
Stats Report
Persija Jakarta  1–3  Home United
Live Report
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Home United won 6–3 on aggregate.


Ceres–Negros  4–2  Yangon United
Live Report
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Yangon United  3–2  Ceres–Negros
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 2,481

Ceres–Negros won 6–5 on aggregate.

Zonal finals

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Summary

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The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 23 May 2018.[5] In the Zonal finals, the two winners of West Asia Zonal semi-finals played each other, and the two winners of ASEAN Zonal semi-finals played each other, with the order of legs decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Al-Jazeera   1–4   Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 0–1 1–3
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Ceres–Negros   1–3   Home United 1–1 0–2

West Asia Zone

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Al-Jazeera  0–1  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Live Report
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Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya  3–1  Al-Jazeera
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 14,883

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 4–1 on aggregate.

ASEAN Zone

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Ceres–Negros  1–1  Home United
Live Report
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Home United  2–0  Ceres–Negros
Live Report
Stats Report

Home United won 3–1 on aggregate.

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

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Summary

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The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 23 May 2018.[5] In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone played in two ties, i.e., the winners of the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the winners of the South Asia Zone (Group E), the winners of the East Asia Zone (Group I), and the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final (whose identity was not known at the time of the draw), with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Home United   1–11   April 25 0–2 1–9
Bengaluru   2–5   Altyn Asyr 2–3 0–2

Matches

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Home United  0–2  April 25
Live Report
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April 25  9–1  Home United
Live Report
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Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)

April 25 won 11–1 on aggregate.


Bengaluru  2–3  Altyn Asyr
Live Report
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Altyn Asyr  2–0  Bengaluru
Live Report
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Altyn Asyr won 5–2 on aggregate.

Inter-zone play-off final

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Summary

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In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals played each other, with the order of legs determined by the Inter-zone play-off semi-final draw. The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
April 25   3–3 (a)   Altyn Asyr 2–2 1–1

Matches

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April 25  2–2  Altyn Asyr
Live Report
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Attendance: 4,200
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Altyn Asyr  1–1  April 25
Live Report
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  • Han Song-hyok   7'

3–3 on aggregate. Altyn Asyr won on away goals.

Final

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In the final, the winners of the West Asia Zonal final and the winners of the Inter-zone play-off final played each other, with the host team (winners of the West Asia Zonal final) alternated from the previous season's final.[6]

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya  2–0  Altyn Asyr
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 24,665

References

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  1. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Calendar 2018". AFC. 11 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "2018 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  3. ^ "Exciting ties on the cards". AFC. 22 May 2018.
  4. ^ "AFC Cup 2018 Knockout Stage Official Draw". YouTube. 23 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "AFC Cup 2018 knockout stage draw confirmed". AFC. 23 May 2018.
  6. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
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