The 2018 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 22 January to 20 February 2018. [1] A total of 13 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide five of the 36 places in the group stage of the 2018 AFC Cup. [2]
The following 13 teams, split into five zones (West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, ASEAN Zone, East Asia Zone), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of two rounds:
| Zone | Teams entering in play-off round | Teams entering in preliminary round |
|---|---|---|
| West Asia Zone | ||
| Central Asia Zone | ||
| South Asia Zone | ||
| ASEAN Zone | ||
| East Asia Zone |
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3). The five winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 31 direct entrants. [2]
The schedule of each round was as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone). [1]
| Round | W | A | C, S, E | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First leg | Second leg | First leg | Second leg | First leg | Second leg | |
| Preliminary round | Not played | 23 January 2018 | 30 January 2018 | |||
| Play-off round | 22 January 2018 | 29 January 2018 | 29 January 2018 | 2 February 2018 | 13 February 2018 | 20 February 2018 |
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg. [5]
| Play-off round | |||||
 Hilal Al-Quds | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
 Al-Suwaiq | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Preliminary round | Play-off round | ||||||||||
 Dordoi | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
 Ahal | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||
| Ahal | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
 Khujand | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Preliminary round | Play-off round | ||||||||||
 Saif | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
 TC Sports | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
| TC Sports | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
 Bengaluru | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||||||||
 Transport United | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Bengaluru | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
Boeung Ket Angkor advanced to Group F.| Play-off round | |||||
| Boeung Ket Angkor | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
 Lao Toyota | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
| Play-off round | |||||
 Erchim | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
 Hwaebul | 4 | 3 | 7 | ||
A total of six teams played in the preliminary round.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dordoi | 3–5 | Ahal | 1–3 | 2–2 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport United | 0–3 | Bengaluru | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Saif | 1–4 | TC Sports | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Dordoi | 1–3 | Ahal |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
| Ahal | 2–2 | Dordoi |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
|
Ahal won 5–3 on aggregate.
| Bengaluru | 3–0 | Transport United |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
Bengaluru won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Saif | 0–1 | TC Sports |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
|
| TC Sports | 3–1 | Saif |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
|
TC Sports won 4–1 on aggregate.
A total of 10 teams played in the play-off round: seven teams which entered in this round, and three winners of the preliminary round.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilal Al-Quds | 1–2 | Al-Suwaiq | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahal | 3–0 | Khujand | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TC Sports | 2–8 | Bengaluru | 2–3 | 0–5 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeung Ket Angkor | 4–3 | Lao Toyota | 3–3 | 1–0 |
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erchim | 0–7 | Hwaebul | 0–4 | 0–3 |
| Hilal Al-Quds | 0–1 | Al-Suwaiq |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
|
| Al-Suwaiq | 1–1 | Hilal Al-Quds |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
|
Al-Suwaiq won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Ahal | 1–0 | Khujand |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
| Khujand | 0–2 | Ahal |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
Ahal won 3–0 on aggregate.
Bengaluru won 8–2 on aggregate.
Boeung Ket Angkor won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Erchim | 0–4 | Hwaebul |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
|
| Hwaebul | 3–0 | Erchim |
|---|---|---|
| Stats Report |
Hwaebul won 7–0 on aggregate.
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