2016 AFC Cup knockout stage

The 2016 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 24 May to 5 November 2016.^[1] A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2016 AFC Cup.^[2]

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage qualified for the knockout stage. Both West Zone and East Zone have eight qualified teams.

Zone	Group	Winners	Runners-up
West Zone (Groups A–D)	A	Al-Ahed	Al-Wehdat
	B	Naft Al-Wasat	Al-Faisaly
	C	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	Al-Wahda
	D	Al-Muharraq	Al-Jaish
East Zone (Groups E–H)	E	Ceres	Tampines Rovers
	F	Kitchee	Kaya
	G	Mohun Bagan	South China
	H	Johor Darul Ta'zim	Bengaluru FC

Format

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie 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.^[2]

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.^[1]

Round	First leg	Second leg
Round of 16	24–25 May 2016
Quarter-finals	13–14 September 2016	20–21 September 2016
Semi-finals	27–28 September 2016	18–19 October 2016
Final	5 November 2016

Bracket

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.^[3]

In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Zone were drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone were drawn into the other two ties, with the order of legs decided by the draw.

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[4] There was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.^[5]

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone play each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone play each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.^[5]

In the final, the two semi-final winners play each other, with the host team decided by a draw, held after the quarter-final draw.^[5]

The bracket of the knockout stage is determined as follows:

• Round of 16: (group winners host match)

West Zone Winner Group A vs. Runner-up Group C Winner Group C vs. Runner-up Group A Winner Group B vs. Runner-up Group D Winner Group D vs. Runner-up Group B

East Zone Winner Group E vs. Runner-up Group G Winner Group G vs. Runner-up Group E Winner Group F vs. Runner-up Group H Winner Group H vs. Runner-up Group F

• Quarterfinals: (matchups and order of legs decided by draw)

West Zone QF1 QF2

East Zone QF3 QF4

• Semifinals: (Winners QF1 and QF3 host first leg, Winners QF2 and QF4 host second leg)

West Zone SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2

East Zone SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4

• Final: Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2 (host team decided by draw)

	Round of 16				Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2
	Al-Wehdat	1
					Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1	4	5
					Al-Jaish	1	0	1
	Naft Al-Wasat	0
	Al-Jaish	1
											Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1	3	4
										Al-Ahed	1	2	3
	Al-Ahed	4
	Al-Wahda	0
					Al-Ahed	1	2	3
					Al-Muharraq	0	0	0
	Al-Muharraq	1
	Al-Faisaly	0
																Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1
																	Bengaluru FC	0
	Ceres	0
	South China (a.e.t.)	1
					South China	1	1	2
					Johor Darul Ta'zim	1	2	3
	Johor Darul Ta'zim	7
	Kaya	2
											Johor Darul Ta'zim	1	1	2
										Bengaluru FC	1	3	4
	Kitchee	2
	Bengaluru FC	3
					Bengaluru FC	1	0	1
					Tampines Rovers	0	0	0
	Mohun Bagan	1
	Tampines Rovers (a.e.t.)	2

Round of 16

Team 1	Score	Team 2
West Zone
Al-Ahed	4–0	Al-Wahda
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2–1	Al-Wehdat
Naft Al-Wasat	0–1	Al-Jaish
Al-Muharraq	1–0	Al-Faisaly
East Zone
Ceres	0–1 (a.e.t.)	South China
Mohun Bagan	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Tampines Rovers
Kitchee	2–3	Bengaluru FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim	7–2	Kaya

West Zone

Al-Ahed v Al-Wahda

24 May 2016 16:00 UTC+3

Al-Ahed	4–0	Al-Wahda
Atwi  12' Al-Hussain  75' (pen.) Dramé  88', 90+3'	Report

Saida International Stadium, Saida Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Mohsen Torky (Iran)

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Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya v Al-Wehdat

24 May 2016 19:00 UTC+3

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2–1	Al-Wehdat
Abdul-Wahid  15' Ahmad  37'	Report	Deeb  43'

Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al-Wakrah (Qatar)^[A] Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Ma Ning (China)

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Naft Al-Wasat v Al-Jaish

25 May 2016 17:00 UTC+4:30

Naft Al-Wasat	0–1	Al-Jaish
	Report	Hamadko  78'

PAS Stadium, Tehran (Iran)^[A] Attendance: 50 Referee: Liu Kwok Man (Hong Kong)

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Al-Muharraq v Al-Faisaly

25 May 2016 18:45 UTC+3

Al-Muharraq	1–0	Al-Faisaly
Kanú  81'	Report

Bahrain National Stadium, Manama Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Rowan Arumughan (India)

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Teams from Iraq were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

East Zone

Ceres v South China

24 May 2016 19:30 UTC+8

Ceres	0–1 (a.e.t.)	South China
	Report	Carlos  107'

Panaad Park and Stadium, Bacolod Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Ali Abdulnabi (Bahrain)

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Mohun Bagan v Tampines Rovers

24 May 2016 19:00 UTC+5:30

Mohun Bagan	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Tampines Rovers
Singh  72'	Report	Webb  63' Yunos  116'

Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati Attendance: 282 Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

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Kitchee v Bengaluru FC

25 May 2016 20:00 UTC+8

Kitchee	2–3	Bengaluru FC
Rufino  7' Tarrés  42'	Report	Chhetri  31' (pen.), 33' Lalhlimpuia  51'

Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong Attendance: 2,806 Referee: Fu Ming (China)

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Johor Darul Ta'zim v Kaya

25 May 2016 20:45 UTC+8

Johor Darul Ta'zim	7–2	Kaya
Lucero  14', 54', 70' Díaz  23' (pen.) Azamuddin  33', 40' Mahali  69'	Report	Porteria  53' Ugarte  88'

Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru Attendance: 17,322 Referee: Fahad Al-Marri (Qatar)

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
West Zone
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	5–1	Al-Jaish	1–1	4–0
Al-Ahed	3–0	Al-Muharraq	1–0	2–0
East Zone
South China	2–3	Johor Darul Ta'zim	1–1	1–2
Bengaluru FC	1–0	Tampines Rovers	1–0	0–0

West Zone

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya v Al-Jaish

13 September 2016 19:00 UTC+3

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–1	Al-Jaish
Ahmad  90+8'	Report	Al-Ali  60'

Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al-Wakrah (Qatar)^[B] Attendance: 400 Referee: Timur Faizullin (Kyrgyzstan)

Al-Jaish v Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya

20 September 2016 19:00 UTC+3

Al-Jaish	0–4	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	Report	Rasan  50' Radhi  67' Ahmad  80' Mohsen  90+2'

Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al-Wakrah (Qatar)^[C] Attendance: 312 Referee: Liu Kwok Man (Hong Kong)

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 5–1 on aggregate.

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Al-Ahed v Al-Muharraq

14 September 2016 15:30 UTC+3

Al-Ahed	1–0	Al-Muharraq
Zreik  5'	Report

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Al-Muharraq v Al-Ahed

21 September 2016 18:00 UTC+3

Al-Muharraq	0–2	Al-Ahed
	Report	Musa  23' Zreik  90+3'

Bahrain National Stadium, Manama Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

Al-Ahed won 3–0 on aggregate.

Notes

2. ^ Teams from Iraq were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
3. ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

East Zone

South China v Johor Darul Ta'zim

13 September 2016 20:00 UTC+8

South China	1–1	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Komazec  90+3'	Report	Díaz  22'

Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong Attendance: 3,938 Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

Johor Darul Ta'zim v South China

20 September 2016 20:45 UTC+8

Johor Darul Ta'zim	2–1	South China
Lucero  58' Díaz  88'	Report	Komazec  90+5'

Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru Attendance: 17,350 Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Johor Darul Ta'zim won 3–2 on aggregate.

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Bengaluru FC v Tampines Rovers

14 September 2016 16:00 UTC+5:30

Bengaluru FC	1–0	Tampines Rovers
Vineeth  7'	Report

Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru Attendance: 120^[D] Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Tampines Rovers v Bengaluru FC

21 September 2016 19:30 UTC+8

Tampines Rovers	0–0	Bengaluru FC
	Report

Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore Attendance: 1,985 Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)

Bengaluru FC won 1–0 on aggregate.

Notes

4. ^ The Bengaluru FC v Tampines Rovers match was played behind closed doors due to local unrest.^[6]

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
West Zone
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	4–3	Al-Ahed	1–1	3–2
East Zone
Johor Darul Ta'zim	2–4	Bengaluru FC	1–1	1–3

West Zone

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya v Al-Ahed

27 September 2016 19:00 UTC+3

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–1	Al-Ahed
Midani  24'	Report	Dakik  62'

Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al-Wakrah (Qatar)^[E] Attendance: 189 Referee: Fahad Al-Marri (Qatar)

Al-Ahed v Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya

18 October 2016 15:30 UTC+3

Al-Ahed	2–3	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Mansour  14' (pen.) Chaito  36'	Report	Ahmad  28' Mansour  70' (o.g.) Rasan  76'

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut Attendance: 3,700 Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 4–3 on aggregate.

Notes

5. ^ Teams from Iraq were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

East Zone

Johor Darul Ta'zim v Bengaluru FC

28 September 2016 20:45 UTC+8

Johor Darul Ta'zim	1–1	Bengaluru FC
Díaz  52'	Report	Lyngdoh  56'

Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

Bengaluru FC v Johor Darul Ta'zim

19 October 2016 19:00 UTC+5:30

Bengaluru FC	3–1	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Chhetri  41', 67' Juanan  76'	Report	Safiq  11'

Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru Attendance: 21,379 Referee: Ali Abdulnabi (Bahrain)

Bengaluru FC won 4–2 on aggregate.

Final

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–0	Bengaluru FC

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya v Bengaluru FC

5 November 2016 19:00 UTC+3

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–0	Bengaluru FC
Ahmad  70'	Report

Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha (Qatar)^[F] Attendance: 5,806 Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

Notes

6. ^ Teams from Iraq were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

References

1. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.
2. "2016 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 28 November 2015.
3. "AFC Cup 2016 Draw Results" (PDF). AFC.
4. "Stage set for AFC Cup 2016 Knockout Stage draw". AFC. 8 June 2016.
5. "Holders JDT set to face South China in AFC Cup quarter-finals". AFC. 9 June 2016.
6. "JSW Bengaluru FC v Tampines Rovers match rescheduled". AFC. 13 September 2016.

External links

• AFC Cup, the-AFC.com