Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 13 December 2016, 16:00 MYT ( UTC+8 ), at the Hilton Petaling Jaya in Petaling Jaya , Malaysia . [3] [4] [5] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four: four groups each in the West Region (Groups A–D) and the East Region (Groups E–H). Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. [6]
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 Region, a draw was held for the three associations with three direct entrants (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran) to determine the seeds 1 placed in order for Groups A, B and C. The remaining teams were then allocated to the groups according to the rules set by AFC.
- For the East Region, a draw was held for the two associations with three direct entrants (South Korea, Japan) to determine the seeds 1 placed in order for Groups E and F. The remaining teams were then allocated to the groups according to the rules set by AFC.
The following 32 teams entered into the group stage draw, which included the 24 direct entrants and the eight winners of the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs, whose identity were not known at the time of the draw. [3] [6]
