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
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 |  |
 (Group A) |
| B |  | ||
| C | | ||
| Central Asia Zone | D |  |
— |
| South Asia Zone | E |  |
— |
| ASEAN Zone | F |  |
 (Group F) |
| G |  | ||
| H |  | ||
| East Asia Zone | I |  |
— |
Format
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
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
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)
| ||
| Final | (Winner WF host match, as alternated from previous season's final)
|
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]
| ASEAN Zonal semi-finals |
ASEAN Zonal final (Winner advances to Inter-zone play-off semi-finals) | |||||||||||
| |
4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |
2 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||
| |
1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| |
1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| |
3 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||
| |
2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| West Asia Zonal semi-finals | West Asia Zonal final | Final | ||||||||||||
|
1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||
|
0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
|
1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||
|
3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||
|
1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||
|
2 | |||||||||||||
| Inter-zone play-off semi-finals | Inter-zone play-off final | |||||||||||||
|
0 | |||||||||||||
|
0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
|
2 | 9 | 11 | |||||||||||
|
2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
|
2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
|
2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||
|
3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||
Zonal semi-finals
Summary
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. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Jazeera |
2–1 | |
1–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
5–3 | |
3–1 | 2–2 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home United |
6–3 | |
3–2 | 3–1 |
| Ceres–Negros |
6–5 | |
4–2 | 2–3 |
West Asia Zone
| Al-Jazeera | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Live Report Stats Report |
|
| Al-Faisaly | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
Al-Jazeera won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
| Al-Ahed | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Live Report Stats Report |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 5–3 on aggregate.
ASEAN Zone
| Home United | 3–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Live Report Stats Report |
|
| Persija Jakarta | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
Home United won 6–3 on aggregate.
| Ceres–Negros | 4–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
| Yangon United | 3–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
Ceres–Negros won 6–5 on aggregate.
Zonal finals
Summary
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. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Jazeera |
1–4 | |
0–1 | 1–3 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceres–Negros |
1–3 | |
1–1 | 0–2 |
West Asia Zone
| Al-Jazeera | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 4–1 on aggregate.
ASEAN Zone
| Ceres–Negros | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
| Home United | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Live Report Stats Report |
Home United won 3–1 on aggregate.
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals
Summary
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. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home United |
1–11 | |
0–2 | 1–9 |
| Bengaluru |
2–5 | |
2–3 | 0–2 |
Matches
| Home United | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
| April 25 | 9–1 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Live Report Stats Report |
|
April 25 won 11–1 on aggregate.
| Bengaluru | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Report Stats Report |
|
Altyn Asyr won 5–2 on aggregate.
Inter-zone play-off final
Summary
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. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 25 |
3–3 (a) | |
2–2 | 1–1 |
Matches
| April 25 | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Live Report Stats Report |
|
| Altyn Asyr | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Live Report Stats Report |
3–3 on aggregate. Altyn Asyr won on away goals.
Final
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]
References
- "AFC Competitions Calendar 2018". AFC. 11 January 2018.
- "2018 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
- "Exciting ties on the cards". AFC. 22 May 2018.
- "AFC Cup 2018 Knockout Stage Official Draw". YouTube. 23 May 2018.
- "AFC Cup 2018 knockout stage draw confirmed". AFC. 23 May 2018.
- "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
External links
- AFC Cup, the-AFC.com
- AFC Cup 2018, stats.the-AFC.com