2019–20 CAF Champions League knockout stage
The 2019–20 CAF Champions League knockout stage began on 28 February with the quarter-finals and will end on 29 May 2020 with the final to decide the champions of the 2019–20 CAF Champions League. A total of eight teams compete in the knockout stage.[1]
Times are GMT as listed by CAF (local times, even if not different, are in parentheses).
Round and draw dates
The schedule is as follows.
The semi-finals and final had been postponed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | 5 February 2020 | 28–29 February 2020 | 6–7 March 2020 |
| Semi-finals | 25–26 September 2020 | 2–3 October 2020 | |
| Final | 16–17 October 2020 | ||
Format
Each tie in the knockout stage, apart from the final, is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the next round. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, then extra time is not played and the winners are decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the final, which is played as a single match, if the score is level at the end of normal time, extra time won't also be played and the winners will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.[1] The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:
- In the draw for the quarter-finals, the four group winners are seeded, and the four group runners-up are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group cannot be drawn against each other, while teams from the same association can be drawn against each other.
- In the draws for semi-finals, there are no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association can be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals are held together before the quarter-finals are played, the identity of the quarter-final winners is not known at the time of the semi-final draw.
Qualified teams
The knockout phase involves the 8 teams which qualify as winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage.
| Group | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| A |  |
 |
| B |  |
|
| C |  |
 |
| D | |
|
Bracket
The bracket of the knockout stage is determined as follows:[1]
| Round | Matchups |
|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | (Group winners host second leg, matchups decided by draw, teams from same group cannot play each other)
|
| Semi-finals | (Matchups and order of legs decided by draw, between winners QF1, QF2, QF3, QF4)
|
| Final | Winners SF1 and SF2 will face each other to decide the champions |
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals), which was held on 5 February 2020, 20:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Hilton Pyramids Golf in Cairo, Egypt.[2][3]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 5 February 2020.
Summary
The first legs were played on 28 and 29 February, and the second legs were played on 6 and 7 March 2020.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahly |
3–1 | |
2–0 | 1–1 |
| Raja Casablanca |
2–1 | |
2–0 | 0–1 |
| Zamalek |
3–2 | |
3–1 | 0–1 |
| Wydad Casablanca |
2–1 | |
2–0 | 0–1 |
Matches
Al-Ahly won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Raja Casablanca | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report (Soccerway) |
| TP Mazembe | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (Soccerway) |
Raja Casablanca won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Zamalek | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report (Soccerway) |
|
| Espérance de Tunis | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report (Soccerway) |
Zamalek won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Wydad Casablanca | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (Soccerway) |
| Étoile du Sahel | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (Soccerway) |
Wydad Casablanca won 2–1 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 5 February 2020 (after the quarter-finals draw).
Summary
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all semi-final matches, originally scheduled for 1–2 and 8–9 May 2020, had been postponed until further notice.[4]
On 30 June 2020, CAF announced that the competition would resume in September 2020 with a Final Four (4) format with the semi-finals played in a single match. The hosts of the Final Four shall be announced later.[5]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahly |
|
25 Sep | 2 Oct | |
| Zamalek |
|
26 Sep | 3 Oct |
Final
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final, originally scheduled for 29 May 2020, 19:00 GMT, at the Japoma Stadium, Douala, Cameroon,[6] had been postponed until further notice.[7]
| SF1 winner | v | |
|---|---|---|
Notes
- Étoile du Sahel played their home matches at Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, instead of their regular home stadium Stade Olympique de Sousse, Sousse, which is undergoing renovation.
References
- "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
- "Accreditation for Interclubs knockout stages". CAF. 30 January 2020.
- "Last eight draw reveal interesting pairings". CAF. 5 February 2020.
- "Postponement of Interclubs semis & Women's qualifiers". CAF. 11 April 2020.
- "CAF Champions League, Confederation Cup to resume in September with Final Four format". CAFonline. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- "Douala, Rabat named host cities for Interclubs 2019/20 final". CAF. 16 March 2020.
- "CAF Interclubs finals postponed". CAF. 18 April 2020.
External links
- Total CAF Champions League, CAFonline.com