2019 AFC Cup knockout stage

Summary

The 2019 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 17 June to 4 November 2019.[1] A total of 11 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2019 AFC Cup.[2]

Qualified teams edit

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-Wehdat   Al-Jaish
(Group A)
B   Al-Jazeera
C   Al-Ahed
Central Asia Zone D   Altyn Asyr
South Asia Zone E   Abahani Limited Dhaka
ASEAN Zone F   Hà Nội   Becamex Bình Dương
(Group G)
G   Ceres–Negros
H   PSM Makassar
East Asia Zone I   April 25

Format edit

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 winners if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).

Schedule edit

The schedule of each round is 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 17–19 June 2019 (W, A) 24–26 June 2019 (W, A)
Zonal finals 31 July 2019 (A),
24 September 2019 (W)
7 August 2019 (A),
1 October 2019 (W)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 20–21 August 2019 27–28 August 2019
Inter-zone play-off final 25 September 2019 2 October 2019
Final 4 November 2019

Bracket edit

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 winners of Group D, Group E, Group I, and AF)
Inter-zone play-off final (Winners of IZSF1 host first leg, Winners of IZSF2 host second leg)
  • IZF: Winners of IZSF1 vs. Winners of IZSF2
Final (Winners of IZF host match, as alternated from previous season's final)
  • Winners of IZF vs. Winners of WF

The bracket was decided after the draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, which was held on 2 July 2019, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3][4]

Zonal semi-finals edit

Summary edit

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-Wehdat   0–1   Al-Ahed 0–1 0–0
Al-Jaish   3–4   Al-Jazeera 3–0 0–4
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Ceres–Negros   2–3   Hà Nội 1–1 1–2
Becamex Bình Dương   2–2 (a)   PSM Makassar 1–0 1–2

West Asia Zone edit

Al-Wehdat  0–1  Al-Ahed
Live Report
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  • Kdouh   79'
Al-Ahed  0–0  Al-Wehdat
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Al-Ahed won 1–0 on aggregate.


Al-Jaish  3–0  Al-Jazeera
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Attendance: 50
Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)
Al-Jazeera  4–0  Al-Jaish
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Al-Jazeera won 4–3 on aggregate.

ASEAN Zone edit

Ceres–Negros  1–1  Hà Nội
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Attendance: 6,007
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)
Hà Nội  2–1  Ceres–Negros
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Attendance: 4,839
Referee: Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)

Hà Nội won 3–2 on aggregate.


Becamex Bình Dương  1–0  PSM Makassar
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PSM Makassar  2–1  Becamex Bình Dương
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Stats Report
Attendance: 1,839
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)

2–2 on aggregate. Becamex Bình Dương won on away goals.

Zonal finals edit

Summary edit

The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 2 July 2019.[4] In the Zonal finals, the two winners of West Asia Zonal semi-finals play each other, and the two winners of ASEAN Zonal semi-finals play 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   0–1   Al-Ahed 0–0 0–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Becamex Bình Dương   0–2   Hà Nội 0–1 0–1

West Asia Zone edit

Al-Jazeera  0–0  Al-Ahed
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Stats Report
Al-Ahed  1–0  Al-Jazeera
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Stats Report

Al-Ahed won 1–0 on aggregate.

ASEAN Zone edit

Becamex Bình Dương  0–1  Hà Nội
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Hà Nội  1–0  Becamex Bình Dương
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Stats Report
Attendance: 6,710
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Hà Nội won 2–0 on aggregate.

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals edit

Summary edit

The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 2 July 2019.[4] In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone play 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
Hà Nội   5–4   Altyn Asyr 3–2 2–2
Abahani Limited Dhaka   4–5   April 25 4–3 0–2

Matches edit

Hà Nội  3–2  Altyn Asyr
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Attendance: 6,250
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)
Altyn Asyr  2–2  Hà Nội
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Attendance: 10,755
Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)

Hà Nội won 5–4 on aggregate.


Abahani Limited Dhaka  4–3  April 25
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Stats Report
  • Choe Jong-hyok   35'
  • Rim Chol-min   54'
  • Pak Song-rok   77'
April 25  2–0  Abahani Limited Dhaka
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 3,600
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifar (Iran)

April 25 won 5–4 on aggregate.

Inter-zone play-off final edit

Summary edit

In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals play 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 advance to the final.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Hà Nội   2–2 (a)   April 25 2–2 0–0

Matches edit

Hà Nội  2–2  April 25
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Stats Report
Attendance: 6,683
Referee: Fu Ming (China)
April 25  0–0  Hà Nội
Live Report
Stats Report

2–2 on aggregate. April 25 won on away goals.

Final edit

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 Inter-zone play-off final) alternated from the previous season's final.[6]

The match was originally to be hosted by April 25 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on 2 November 2019. However, on 22 October 2019, due to North Korea's decision to ban television transmission of football games, the AFC announced that the final would be held in Shanghai, China in order for the match to be transmitted.[7][8] On 25 October 2019, the match was rescheduled from 2 November to 4 November and the host city was shifted from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[9]

April 25  0–1  Al-Ahed
Live Report
Stats Report

Notes edit

  1. ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
  2. ^ PSM Makassar played their home matches at Pakansari Stadium, Cibinong, instead of their home Andi Mattalata Stadium, Makassar, since the stadium did not meet AFC regulations.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". AFC. 11 January 2018.
  2. ^ "2019 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  3. ^ "Asian clubs continue pursuit for glory". AFC. 1 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "AFC Cup 2019 knockout stage draw confirmed". AFC. 2 July 2019.
  5. ^ "AFC Cup 2019 Grup H, PSM Makassar Ngungsi ke Stadion Pakansari". Topskor.id. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  6. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016.
  7. ^ "نهائي كأس الاتحاد الآسيوي في الصين". lebanonfg.com (in Arabic). 17 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  8. ^ "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played in Shanghai". AFC. 22 October 2019.
  9. ^ "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played on November 4 in Kuala Lumpur". AFC. 25 October 2019.

External links edit

  • AFC Cup, the-AFC.com
  • AFC Cup 2019, stats.the-AFC.com