2017 AFC Cup knockout stage

The 2017 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 16 May to 4 November 2017. ^[1] A total of 11 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2017 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	Al-Zawraa	Al-Wahda (Group B)
	B	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	C	Al-Wehdat
Central Asia Zone	D	Istiklol	—
South Asia Zone	E	Bengaluru FC	—
ASEAN Zone	F	Global Cebu	Johor Darul Ta'zim (Group F)
	G	Ceres–Negros
	H	Home United
East Asia Zone	I	April 25	—

Format

In the knockout stage, the 11 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the five zones until the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals. 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 would 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	16–17, 22 May 2017 (W, A)	29–31 May 2017 (W, A)
Zonal finals	2 August 2017 (A), 12 September 2017 (W)	9 August 2017 (A), 26 September 2017 (W)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals	22–23 August 2017	12–13 September 2017
Inter-zone play-off final	27 September 2017	18 October 2017
Final	4 November 2017

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 runner-up: first team listed host first leg, second team listed host second leg) West Asia Zone If best runner-up from Group A WSF1: Winner Group A vs. Winner Group C WSF2: Runner-up Group A vs. Winner Group B If best runner-up from Group B WSF1: Winner Group B vs. Winner Group A WSF2: Runner-up Group B vs. Winner Group C If best runner-up from Group C WSF1: Winner Group C vs. Winner Group B WSF2: Runner-up Group C vs. Winner Group A ASEAN Zone If best runner-up from Group F ASF1: Winner Group F vs. Winner Group H ASF2: Runner-up Group F vs. Winner Group G If best runner-up from Group G ASF1: Winner Group G vs. Winner Group F ASF2: Runner-up Group G vs. Winner Group H If best runner-up from Group H ASF1: Winner Group H vs. Winner Group G ASF2: Runner-up Group H vs. Winner Group F
Zonal finals	(Order of legs decided by draw) West Asia Zone WF: Winner WSF1 vs. Winner WSF2 ASEAN Zone AF: Winner ASF1 vs. Winner ASF2
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) IZSF1 IZSF2
Inter-zone play-off final	(Winner IZSF1 host first leg, Winner IZSF2 host second leg) IZF: Winner IZSF1 vs. Winner IZSF2
Final	(Host team decided by draw) Winner WF vs. Winner IZF

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 6 June 2017, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

	Zonal semi-finals								Zonal finals								Inter-zone play-off semi-finals								Inter-zone play-off finals								Final
	Global Cebu		2	2	4
																	Istiklol		4	1	5
	Home United		2	3	5
									Home United		2	0	2				Ceres–Negros		0	1	1
																									Istiklol		1	2	3
									Ceres–Negros		1	2	3
	Johor Darul Ta'zim		3	1	4																				Bengaluru FC		0	2	2
																	Bengaluru FC		3	0	3
	Ceres–Negros (a)		2	2	4
																	April 25		0	0	0
																																	Istiklol		0
																																	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya		1
	Al-Wahda		4	0	4
	Al-Wehdat		1	1	2
									Al-Wahda		2	0	2
									Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (a)		1	1	2
	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya		1	1	2
	Al-Zawraa		1	0	1

Zonal semi-finals

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 identity of the best runner-up. ^[3]

West Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2–1	Al-Zawraa	1–1	1–0
Al-Wahda	4–2	Al-Wehdat	4–1	0–1

ASEAN Zone

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Global Cebu	4–5	Home United	2–2	2–3
Johor Darul Ta'zim	4–4 (a)	Ceres–Negros	3–2	1–2

West Asia Zone

22 May 2017 (2017-05-22) ^{[note 1]}

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–1	Al-Zawraa
Radhi 74'	Report	Mhawi 67'

Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil

Attendance: 11,509

Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

29 May 2017 (2017-05-29)

21:30  UTC+3

Al-Zawraa	0–1	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	Report	Mohsin 50'

Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha (Qatar) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 75

Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 2–1 on aggregate.

---

16 May 2017 (2017-05-16)

15:30  UTC+3

Al-Wahda	4–1	Al-Wehdat
Al Hasan 14' Al Ghabbash 74' (pen.) Rafe 77', 85'	Report	Abu Amarah 32'

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut (Lebanon) ^{[note 2]}

Attendance: 20

Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)

30 May 2017 (2017-05-30)

23:00  UTC+3

Al-Wehdat	1–0	Al-Wahda
Deeb 7'	Report

King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman

Attendance: 13,000

Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)

Al-Wahda won 4–2 on aggregate.

ASEAN Zone

16 May 2017 (2017-05-16)

19:30  UTC+8

Global Cebu	2–2	Home United
Roberts 15' Aguinaldo 53'	Report	Adam 34' Plazibat 90+5'

Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila

Attendance: 486

Referee: Wang Di (China)

30 May 2017 (2017-05-30)

20:30  UTC+8

Home United	3–2	Global Cebu
Song Ui-young 36' Plazibat 89', 90+4'	Report	Agustien 6' (pen.) Sasaki 49'

Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore

Attendance: 1,370

Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)

Home United won 5–4 on aggregate.

---

17 May 2017 (2017-05-17)

20:45  UTC+8

Johor Darul Ta'zim	3–2	Ceres–Negros
Cabrera 18' Safiq 45+1' Hazwan 68'	Report	Rodríguez 21' Marañón 25'

Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru

Attendance: 14,220

Referee: Rowan Arumughan (India)

31 May 2017 (2017-05-31)

19:30  UTC+8

Ceres–Negros	2–1	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Kawase 26' Rodríguez 90+3' (pen.)	Report	Guerra 65'

Panaad Park and Stadium, Bacolod

Attendance: 5,687

Referee: Fu Ming (China)

4–4 on aggregate. Ceres–Negros won on away goals.

Zonal finals

The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 6 June 2017. 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. ^{[4] [5] [6]} The winner of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winner of the ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

West Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Wahda	2–2 (a)	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2–1	0–1

ASEAN Zone

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Home United	2–3	Ceres–Negros	2–1	0–2

West Asia Zone

12 September 2017 (2017-09-12)

15:30  UTC+3

Al-Wahda	2–1	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Bouta 3' Al Masri 64'	Report	Ahmad 90'

Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon (Lebanon) ^{[note 2]}

Attendance: 30

Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)

26 September 2017 (2017-09-26)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–0	Al-Wahda
Radhi 90+4'	Report

Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al Wakrah (Qatar) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 306

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

2–2 on aggregate. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won on away goals.

ASEAN Zone

2 August 2017 (2017-08-02)

19:30  UTC+8

Home United	2–1	Ceres–Negros
Plazibat 11' (pen.) Hariss 83'	Report	Steuble 45+3'

Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore

Attendance: 3,024

Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

9 August 2017 (2017-08-09)

19:30  UTC+8

Ceres–Negros	2–0	Home United
Porteria 2' Ott 42'	Report

Panaad Park and Stadium, Bacolod

Attendance: 7,534

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

Ceres–Negros won 3–2 on aggregate.

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 6 June 2017. 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 winner of the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the winner of the South Asia Zone (Group E), the winner of the East Asia Zone (Group I), and the winner 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. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Istiklol	5–1	Ceres–Negros	4–0	1–1
Bengaluru FC	3–0	April 25	3–0	0–0

22 August 2017 (2017-08-22)

19:00  UTC+5

Istiklol	4–0	Ceres–Negros
Nazarov 25' (pen.) Jalilov 45' Dzhalilov 67', 88'	Report

Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor

Attendance: 13,800

Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)

12 September 2017 (2017-09-12)

19:30  UTC+8

Ceres–Negros	1–1	Istiklol
Súper 34'	Report	Barkov 45+1'

Panaad Park and Stadium, Bacolod

Attendance: 4,752

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Istiklol won 5–1 on aggregate.

---

23 August 2017 (2017-08-23)

19:00  UTC+5:30

Bengaluru FC	3–0	April 25
Chhetri 33' (pen.) U. Singh 51' Rodrigues 77'	Report

Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore

Attendance: 4,709

Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

13 September 2017 (2017-09-13)

17:00  UTC+8:30

April 25	0–0	Bengaluru FC
	Report

Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang

Attendance: 6,500

Referee: Wang Di (China)

Bengaluru FC won 3–0 on aggregate.

Inter-zone play-off final

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. ^[4] The winner of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Istiklol	3–2	Bengaluru FC	1–0	2–2

27 September 2017 (2017-09-27)

19:00  UTC+5

Istiklol	1–0	Bengaluru FC
Barkov 27'	Report

Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor

Attendance: 11,000

Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

18 October 2017 (2017-10-18)

19:00  UTC+5:30

Bengaluru FC	2–2	Istiklol
Bheke 24' Chhetri 65' (pen.)	Report	Davronov 4' (pen.) Barkov 56'

Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore

Attendance: 7,862

Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

Istiklol won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2017 AFC Cup Final

The draw for the final was held on 6 June 2017. In the final, the winner of the West Asia Zonal final and the winner of the Inter-zone play-off final played each other, with the host team decided by draw. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

4 November 2017 (2017-11-04)

18:00  UTC+5

Istiklol	0–1	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	Report	Mohsin 68'

Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

Notes

1. The West Asia Zonal semi-final first leg between Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Zawraa was agreed by the AFC to be staged in Iraq following FIFA's approval in May 2017 to allow international matches to be played there, and to allow logistical preparation, was moved from 15 May to 22 May. ^[7] The second leg was also expected to be played in Iraq, but the home side Al-Zawraa requested that it be played in Qatar. ^[8] The West Asia Zonal final second leg between Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Wahda was also played in Qatar.
2. Teams from Syria are not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

References

1. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017" (PDF). AFC.
2. "2017 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
3. "AFC Cup 2017 Draw Mechanism" (PDF). AFC.
4. "AFC Cup 2017 hopefuls await draw". AFC. 5 June 2017.
5. "AFC Cup 2017 - Official Draw". YouTube. 6 June 2017.
6. "AFC Cup Knockout Stage official draw concluded". AFC. 6 June 2017.
7. "AFC Cup West Zone Semi-final to be staged in Iraq". AFC. 10 May 2017.
8. "AFC agrees for second leg to be played in Doha after request from Al-Zawraa". Iraq Football Association. 11 May 2017.

External links

• AFC Cup , the-AFC.com
• AFC Cup 2017, stats.the-AFC.com