2019 AFC Cup

16th secondary club football tournament organized by the

2019 AFC Cup
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
5 February – 13 March 2019
Competition proper:
25 February – 4 November 2019
TeamsCompetition proper: 36
Total: 43 (from 26 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsLebanon Al-Ahed (1st title)
Runners-upNorth Korea April 25
Tournament statistics
Matches played127
Goals scored386 (3.04 per match)
Attendance428,416 (3,373 per match)
Top scorer(s)Spain Bienvenido Marañón
(10 goals)
Best player(s)Lebanon Mehdi Khalil
Fair play awardLebanon Al-Ahed
← 2018
2020 →
International football competition

The 2019 AFC Cup was the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[1]

Al-Ahed from Lebanon won the title for the first time, defeating April 25 from North Korea in the final. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were the title holders, having won the previous three editions of the tournament. However, they were unable to defend the title as Iraqi teams played in the AFC Champions League instead of the AFC Cup in the 2019 edition.

Association team allocation

The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):[2]

  • The associations are split into five zones:
  • All associations which do not receive direct slots in the AFC Champions League group stage are eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
  • In each zone, the number of groups in the group stage is determined based on the number of entries, with the number of slots filled through play-offs same as the number of groups:
    • In the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, there are three groups in the group stage, including a total of 9 direct slots, with the 3 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
    • In the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, there is one group in the group stage, including a total of 3 direct slots, with the 1 remaining slot filled through play-offs.
  • The top associations participating in the AFC Cup in each zone as per the AFC rankings get at least one direct slot in the group stage (including losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs), while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
    • For the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN zone:
      • The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each get two direct slots.
      • The associations ranked 4th to 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
      • The associations ranked 7th or below each get one play-off slot.
    • For the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia zone:
      • The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
      • The associations ranked 4th or below each get one play-off slot.
  • The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
  • If any association gives up its direct slots, they are redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of two direct slots.
  • If any association gives up its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.
  • If the number of teams in the play-offs in any zone is fewer than twice the number of group stage slots filled through play-offs, the play-off teams of the highest eligible associations are given byes to the group stage.

Association ranking

For the 2019 AFC Cup, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017,[3] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, between 2014 and 2017.[2][4]

Participation for 2019 AFC Cup
Participating
Not participating
West Asia Zone
Rank Member
Association 		Points[3] Slots
Group
stage 		Play-off
Zone AFC Play-off
round 		Prelim.
round
1 16  Syria 28.983 2 0 0
2 18  Jordan 25.649 2 0 0
3 19  Kuwait 24.798 2 0 0
4 20  Bahrain 24.337 2 0 0
5 22  Lebanon 21.367 2 0 0
6 27  Oman 13.921 1 1 0
7 29  Palestine 10.552 0 1 0
— 34  Yemen[YEM] 3.358 0 0 0
Total 11 2 0
2
13
Central Asia Zone
Rank Member
Association 		Points[3] Slots
Group
stage 		Play-off
Zone AFC Play-off
round 		Prelim.
round
1 12  Tajikistan 30.725 1 1 0
2 26  Turkmenistan 14.163 1 0 1
3 31  Kyrgyzstan 5.680 1 0 1
— 37  Afghanistan[AFG] 2.454 0 0 0
Total 3 1 2
3
6
South Asia Zone
Rank Member
Association 		Points[3] Slots
Group
stage 		Play-off
Zone AFC Play-off
round 		Prelim.
round
1 15  India 29.291 1 1 0
— 28  Maldives[MDV] 11.970 0 0 0
2 33  Bangladesh[BAN] 3.365 1 0 0
3 38    Nepal 1.228 1 0 0
4 39  Bhutan 0.875 0 0 1
5 44  Sri Lanka 0.325 0 0 1
— 46  Pakistan[PAK] 0.188 0 0 0
Total 3 1 2
3
6
ASEAN Zone
Rank Member
Association 		Points[3] Slots
Group
stage 		Play-off
Zone AFC Play-off
round 		Prelim.
round
1 17  Vietnam 27.426 2 0 0
2 21  Philippines 21.405 2 0 0
3 23  Singapore 17.084 2 0 0
4 24  Indonesia 16.871 2 0 0
5 25  Myanmar 14.753 2 0 0
6 32  Laos[LAO] 3.439 1 0 0
7 35  Cambodia 3.312 1 0 0
— 41  Brunei[BRU] 0.564 0 0 0
— 43  East Timor[TLS] 0.401 0 0 0
Total 12 0 0
0
12
East Asia Zone
Rank Member
Association 		Points[3] Slots
Group
stage 		Play-off
Zone AFC Play-off
round 		Prelim.
round
1 14  Hong Kong 29.300 1 1 0
2 30  North Korea 7.797 1 0 1
3 36  Chinese Taipei[TPE] 2.769 1 0 0
— 40  Macau[MAC] 0.815 0 0 0
— 42  Guam[GUM] 0.539 0 0 0
4 45  Mongolia 0.213 0 0 1
Total 3 1 2
3
6

Notes
  1. ^
    Afghanistan (AFG): Afghanistan did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system.[5]
  2. ^
    Bangladesh (BAN): The 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League was not completed in time for the 2019 AFC Cup, so Bangladesh could only get one total slot, where they were represented by the 2018 Bangladesh Federation Cup winners.[6]
  3. ^
    Brunei (BRU): Brunei did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system.[5]
  4. ^
    Chinese Taipei (TPE): Chinese Taipei had only one team which had an AFC Cup license.[5]
  5. ^
    Guam (GUM): Guam did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system.[5]
  6. ^
    Laos (LAO): Laos had only one team which had an AFC Cup license and finished in the top half of the league to meet the sporting criteria (Entry Manual 12.6).[2][5]
  7. ^
    Macau (MAC): Macau did not have any teams which had an AFC Cup license.[5]
  8. ^
    Maldives (MDV): Maldives did not submit the list of licensed teams to the AFC.[7][5]
  9. ^
    Pakistan (PAK): Pakistan did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system.[8][5]
  10. ^
    Timor-Leste (TLS): Timor-Leste did not submit the list of licensed teams to the AFC.[5]
  11. ^
    Yemen (YEM): Yemen did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system.[5]

Teams

The following 43 teams from 26 associations entered the competition.

West Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–C)
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Syria Al-Jaish 2017–18 Syrian Premier League champions and 2018 Syrian Cup winners 9th (2018)
Syria Al-Ittihad 2017–18 Syrian Premier League runners-up 4th (2012)
Jordan Al-Wehdat 2017–18 Jordanian Pro League champions[Note ACL] 11th (2017)
Jordan Al-Jazeera 2017–18 Jordan FA Cup winners
2017–18 Jordanian Pro League runners-up 		3rd (2018)
Kuwait Al-Kuwait 2017–18 Kuwaiti Premier League champions[Note ACL] and 2017–18 Kuwait Emir Cup winners 8th (2015)
Kuwait Al-Qadsia 2017–18 Kuwaiti Premier League runners-up 7th (2015)
Bahrain Al-Najma 2017–18 Bahraini Premier League runners-up
2017–18 Bahraini King's Cup winners 		2nd (2008)
Bahrain Malkiya 2017–18 Bahraini Premier League 4th place[Note BHR] 2nd (2018)
Lebanon Al-Ahed 2017–18 Lebanese Premier League champions and 2017–18 Lebanese FA Cup winners 9th (2018)
Lebanon Nejmeh 2017–18 Lebanese Premier League runners-up 9th (2017)
Oman Al-Suwaiq 2017–18 Oman Professional League champions 7th (2018)
Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Oman Al-Nasr 2017–18 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners 2nd (2006)
State of Palestine Hilal Al-Quds 2017–18 West Bank Premier League champions 3rd (2018)


Central Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group D)
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Tajikistan Istiklol 2018 Tajik League champions[Note ACL] and 2018 Tajik Cup winners 5th (2018)
Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr 2018 Ýokary Liga champions 5th (2018)
Kyrgyzstan Dordoi 2018 Kyrgyzstan League champions and 2018 Kyrgyzstan Cup winners 4th (2018)
Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Tajikistan Khujand 2018 Tajik League runners-up 3rd (2018)
Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Turkmenistan Ahal 2018 Ýokary Liga runners-up[Note TKM] 3rd (2018)
Kyrgyzstan Alay 2018 Kyrgyzstan League runners-up 5th (2018)


South Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group E)
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
India Minerva Punjab 2017–18 I-League champions[Note ACL] 1st
Bangladesh Abahani Limited Dhaka 2018 Bangladesh Federation Cup winners 3rd (2018)
Nepal Manang Marshyangdi Club 2018–19 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League champions 1st
Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
India Chennaiyin 2017–18 Indian Super League champions 1st
Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Bhutan Transport United 2018 Bhutan National League champions 2nd (2018)
Sri Lanka Colombo 2017–18 Sri Lanka Champions League champions 2nd (2017)
ASEAN Zone Group stage direct entrants (Groups F–H)
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Vietnam Hà Nội 2018 V.League 1 champions[Note ACL] 4th (2017)
Vietnam Becamex Bình Dương 2018 Vietnamese Cup winners 3rd (2010)
Philippines Ceres–Negros 2018 Philippines Football League champions[Note ACL] 5th (2018)
Philippines Kaya–Iloilo 2018 Copa Paulino Alcantara winners 2nd (2016)
Singapore Home United 2018 Singapore Premier League runners-up[Note ACL][Note SIN] 10th (2018)
Singapore Tampines Rovers 2018 Singapore Premier League 4th place[Note SIN] 11th (2018)
Indonesia Persija Jakarta 2018 Liga 1 champions[Note ACL] 2nd (2018)
Indonesia PSM Makassar 2018 Liga 1 runners-up 1st
Myanmar Yangon United 2018 Myanmar National League champions[Note ACL] and 2018 General Aung San Shield winners 6th (2018)
Myanmar Shan United 2018 Myanmar National League runners-up 2nd (2018)
Laos Lao Toyota 2018 Lao Premier League champions 5th (2018)
Cambodia Nagaworld 2018 Cambodian League champions 2nd (2017)


East Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group I)
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Hong Kong Kitchee 2017–18 Hong Kong Premier League champions[Note ACL] and 2017–18 Hong Kong FA Cup winners 7th (2016)
North Korea April 25 2017–18 DPR Korea Premier League champions 3rd (2018)
Chinese Taipei Hang Yuen 2018 Taiwan Football Premier League 3rd place[Note TPE] 2nd (2018)
Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Hong Kong Tai Po 2017–18 Hong Kong Premier League runners-up 2nd (2010)
Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round
Team Qualifying method App (Last)
North Korea Ryomyong 2018 Hwaebul Cup winners 1st
Mongolia Erchim 2018 Mongolian Premier League champions 3rd (2018)

Notes
  1. ^
    AFC Champions League (ACL): Teams played in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage. Had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would not play in the AFC Cup, and would be replaced by the standby team from the same association if such team were available.
  2. ^
    Bahrain (BAH): Al-Muharraq, the 2017–18 Bahraini Premier League champions, did not have an AFC Cup license. As a result, Malkiya, the league 4th place, entered the group stage.[9]
  3. ^
    Chinese Taipei (TPE): Tatung and Taipower, the 2018 Taiwan Premier League champions and runners-up, did not have an AFC Cup license. As a result, Hang Yuen, the league 3rd place, entered the group stage.[10]
  4. ^
    Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2018 Singapore Premier League champions and 2018 Singapore Cup winners, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. Moreover, DPMM, the 2018 Singapore Premier League 3rd place, is a team from Brunei and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Home United and Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up and 4th place respectively, entered the group stage.
  5. ^
    Turkmenistan (TKM): Köpetdag, the 2018 Turkmenistan Cup winners, did not have an AFC Cup license. As a result, Ahal, the 2018 Ýokary Liga runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.[11]
class=notpageimage|
Location of teams of the 2019 AFC Cup.
West Asia Zone
Central Asia Zone
South Asia Zone
ASEAN Zone
East Asia Zone
(p) Qualifying play-off participants

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).[12]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary round No draw 20 February 2019 (C, S, E) 27 February 2019 (C, S, E)
Play-off stage Play-off round 5 February 2019 (W),
6 March 2019 (C, S, E) 		12 February 2019 (W),
13 March 2019 (C, S, E)
Group stage Matchday 1 22 November 2018 25–27 February 2019 (W, A), 3 April 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 2 11–13 March 2019 (W, A), 17 April 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 3 1–3 April & 3 May 2019 (W, A), 30 April – 1 May 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 4 15–17 & 23 April & 6 May 2019 (W, A), 15 May 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 5 29 April – 1 May 2019 (W, A), 19 June 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 6 13–15 May 2019 (W, A), 26 June 2019 (C, S, E)
Knockout stage Zonal semi-finals 17–19 June 2019 (W, A) 24–26 June 2019 (W, A)
Zonal finals 2 July 2019 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 2 November 2019

Qualifying play-offs

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 four winners of the play-off round (one each from West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, East Asia Zone) advanced to the group stage to join the 32 direct entrants.[1]

The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone, determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg, was officially announced by the AFC prior to the group stage draw on 22 November 2018.[13]

Preliminary round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Central Asia Zone
Alay Kyrgyzstan 1–3 Turkmenistan Ahal 1–2 0–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
South Asia Zone
Colombo Sri Lanka 9–2 Bhutan Transport United 7–1 2–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Asia Zone
Erchim Mongolia 0–6 North Korea Ryomyong 0–3 0–3

Play-off round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Hilal Al-Quds State of Palestine 3–1 Oman Al-Nasr 2–1 1–0
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Central Asia Zone
Ahal Turkmenistan 1–1 (a) Tajikistan Khujand 1–1 0–0
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
South Asia Zone
Colombo Sri Lanka 0–1 India Chennaiyin 0–0 0–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Asia Zone
Ryomyong North Korea 0–0 (3–5 p) Hong Kong Tai Po 0–0 0–0 (a.e.t.)

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 22 November 2018, 14:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[13] The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone cannot be drawn into the same group.

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advanced to the knockout stage:

  • The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advanced to the Zonal semi-finals.
  • The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.
Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):[1]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  5. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  6. Goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams playing each other in the last round of the group were tied;
  9. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  10. Association ranking.

Group A

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WEH JAI HAQ NEJ
1 Jordan Al-Wehdat 6 4 1 1 12 4 +8 13 Zonal semi-finals — 1–1 2–0 1–0
2 Syria Al-Jaish 6 2 4 0 6 4 +2 10 1–0 — 1–1 2–2
3 State of Palestine Hilal Al-Quds 6 2 2 2 7 11 −4 8 2–6 0–0 — 2–1
4 Lebanon Nejmeh 6 0 1 5 4 10 −6 1 0–2 0–1 1–2 —
Source: AFC

Group B

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JAZ KUW NAJ ITH
1 Jordan Al-Jazeera 6 5 1 0 13 2 +11 16 Zonal semi-finals — 1–0 3–0 4–0
2 Kuwait Al-Kuwait 6 3 1 2 6 4 +2 10 1–2 — 2–1 0–0
3 Bahrain Al-Najma 6 2 1 3 6 9 −3 7 1–1 0–1 — 2–1
4 Syria Al-Ittihad 6 0 1 5 2 12 −10 1 0–2 0–2 1–2 —
Source: AFC

Group C

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AHE MAL QAD SUW
1 Lebanon Al-Ahed 6 4 2 0 8 3 +5 14 Zonal semi-finals — 2–1 0–0 4–2
2 Bahrain Malkiya 6 2 2 2 8 8 0 8 0–0 — 1–2 2–2
3 Kuwait Al-Qadsia 6 2 1 3 6 6 0 7 0–1 1–2 — 2–0
4 Oman Al-Suwaiq 6 1 1 4 7 12 −5 4 0–1 1–2 2–1 —
Source: AFC

Group D

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ALT IST DOR KHU
1 Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr 6 2 4 0 7 4 +3 10 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 1–1 3–1 1–0
2 Tajikistan Istiklol 6 2 2 2 12 8 +4 8 1–1 — 4–1 3–0
3 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi 6 2 1 3 9 12 −3 7[a] 1–1 2–1 — 3–0
4 Tajikistan Khujand 6 2 1 3 6 10 −4 7[a] 0–0 3–2 3–1 —
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Khujand 3–1 Dordoi, Dordoi 3–0 Khujand.

Group E

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ABD CFC MIN MMC
1 Bangladesh Abahani Limited Dhaka 6 4 1 1 12 5 +7 13 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 3–2 2–2 5–0
2 India Chennaiyin 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 11 1–0 — 0–0 2–0
3 India Minerva Punjab 6 0 5 1 6 7 −1 5 0–1 1–1 — 2–2
4 Nepal Manang Marshyangdi Club 6 0 2 4 5 14 −9 2 0–1 2–3 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Group F

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HAN TAM YAN NAG
1 Vietnam Hà Nội 6 4 1 1 23 5 +18 13[a] Zonal semi-finals — 2–0 0–1 10–0
2 Singapore Tampines Rovers 6 4 1 1 17 10 +7 13[a] 1–1 — 4–3 4–2
3 Myanmar Yangon United 6 2 0 4 10 14 −4 6 2–5 1–3 — 2–0
4 Cambodia Nagaworld 6 1 0 5 6 27 −21 3 1–5 1–5 2–1 —
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Tampines Rovers 1–1 Hà Nội, Hà Nội 2–0 Tampines Rovers.

Group G

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CER BBD PSJ SHA
1 Philippines Ceres–Negros 6 5 0 1 15 6 +9 15 Zonal semi-finals — 0–1 1–0 3–2
2 Vietnam Becamex Bình Dương 6 4 1 1 13 5 +8 13 1–3 — 3–1 6–0
3 Indonesia Persija Jakarta 6 2 1 3 12 9 +3 7 2–3 0–0 — 6–1
4 Myanmar Shan United 6 0 0 6 5 25 −20 0 0–5 1–2 1–3 —
Source: AFC

Group H

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSM HOM KAY LAO
1 Indonesia PSM Makassar 6 4 2 0 17 8 +9 14 Zonal semi-finals — 3–2 1–1 7–3
2 Singapore Home United 6 3 1 2 9 11 −2 10 1–1 — 2–0 1–0
3 Philippines Kaya–Iloilo 6 2 2 2 13 7 +6 8 1–2 5–0 — 5–1
4 Laos Lao Toyota 6 0 1 5 7 20 −13 1 0–3 2–3 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Group I

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification APR KIT TAI HYU
1 North Korea April 25 6 5 0 1 17 2 +15 15 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 2–0 4–0 5–0
2 Hong Kong Kitchee 6 3 1 2 11 10 +1 10 1–0 — 2–4 3–0
3 Hong Kong Tai Po 6 2 2 2 13 15 −2 8 1–3 3–3 — 4–2
4 Chinese Taipei Hang Yuen 6 0 1 5 4 18 −14 1 0–3 1–2 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Ranking of second-placed teams

West Asia Zone

Pos Grp Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A Syria Al-Jaish 6 2 4 0 6 4 +2 10[a] Zonal semi-finals
2 B Kuwait Al-Kuwait 6 3 1 2 6 4 +2 10[a]
3 C Bahrain Malkiya 6 2 2 2 8 8 0 8
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Disciplinary points: Al-Jaish −6, Al-Kuwait −11.

ASEAN Zone

Pos Grp Team
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 G Vietnam Becamex Bình Dương 6 4 1 1 13 5 +8 13 Zonal semi-finals
2 F Singapore Tampines Rovers 6 4 1 1 17 10 +7 13
3 H Singapore Home United 6 3 1 2 9 11 −2 10
Source: AFC

Knockout stage

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).

Bracket

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.[14][15]

Zonal semi-finalsZonal finalsInterzone play-off semi-finalsInterzone play-off finalFinal
Vietnam Becamex Bình Dương (a)112
Indonesia PSM Makassar022
Vietnam Becamex Bình Dương000
Vietnam Hà Nội112Vietnam Hà Nội325
Philippines Ceres–Negros112
Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr224
Vietnam Hà Nội123Vietnam Hà Nội202
North Korea April 25 (a)202
Bangladesh Abahani Limited Dhaka404
North Korea April 25325
North Korea April 250
Lebanon Al-Ahed1
Syria Al-Jaish303
Jordan Al-Jazeera044
Jordan Al-Jazeera000
Lebanon Al-Ahed011
Jordan Al-Wehdat000
Lebanon Al-Ahed101

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 the identity of the best runners-up.

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

Zonal finals

The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 2 July 2019.[15] 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 Jordan 0–1 Lebanon Al-Ahed 0–0 0–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Becamex Bình Dương Vietnam 0–2 Vietnam Hà Nội 0–1 0–1

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 2 July 2019.[15] 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 Vietnam 5–4 Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr 3–2 2–2
Abahani Limited Dhaka Bangladesh 4–5 North Korea April 25 4–3 0–2

Inter-zone play-off final

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 Vietnam 2–2 (a) North Korea April 25 2–2 0–0

Final

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.[16]

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.[17][18] 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.[19]

April 25 North Korea0–1Lebanon Al-Ahed
Live Report
Stats Report

Awards

Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player[20] Lebanon Mehdi Khalil Lebanon Al-Ahed
Top Goalscorer[21] Spain Bienvenido Marañón Philippines Ceres–Negros
Fair Play Award[20] — Lebanon Al-Ahed

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
  Player is not in the team but team still active for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 ZSF1 ZSF2 ZF1 ZF2 ISF1 ISF2 IF1 IF2 F Total
1 Spain Bienvenido Marañón Philippines Ceres–Negros 1 3 1 1 3 1 10
2 Nigeria Ganiyu Oseni Vietnam Hà Nội 4 2 2 1 9
North Korea Kim Yu-song North Korea April 25 1 1 2 2 2 1
4 Senegal Pape Omar Faye Vietnam Hà Nội 1 3 1 1 1 1 8
5 Brazil Bruno Matos Indonesia Persija Jakarta 2 1 1 3 7
Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Quyết Vietnam Hà Nội 1 1 1 1 2 1
7 Jordan Baha' Faisal Jordan Al-Wehdat 4 1 1 6
Brazil Fernando Hong Kong Kitchee 1 1 1 2 1
9 Singapore Khairul Amri Singapore Tampines Rovers 1 1 3 5
Lebanon Mohamad Kdouh Lebanon Al-Ahed 3 1 1
Brazil Wander Luiz Vietnam Becamex Bình Dương 1 1 1 1 1
Finland Eero Markkanen Indonesia PSM Makassar 1 2 1 1
Syria Bassel Moustafa Syria Al-Jaish 1 1 1 2

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "2019 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  2. ^ a b c "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020" (PDF). AFC.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "AFC Club Competitions Ranking (as of 15 December 2017)" (PDF). AFC.
  4. ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking Mechanics (2017 version)" (PDF). AFC.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "List of Licensed Clubs for the 2019 AFC Cup" (PDF). AFC.
  6. ^ "Bangladesh to lose one spot?". The Daily Star. 8 August 2018.
  7. ^ "No Maldivian Clubs for AFC Cup 2019". MaldiveSoccer. 23 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Ensuring entry in AFC Cup: Pak clubs bound to follow licensing regulations [The News]". The News. 25 November 2018.
  9. ^ "لحضور قرعة "كأس الاتحاد".. وفدا فريقي النجمة والمالكية يطيران لـ"كوالالامبور" الاثنين". alwatannews.net. 14 November 2018.
  10. ^ "台灣唯一國際認證職業隊　航源FC再戰明年亞洲足聯盃". ETtoday運動雲. 22 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Новый сезон Кубка АФК". Football Federation of Turkmenistan. 23 November 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  12. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". AFC. 28 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Draw unveils exciting 2019 challenge". AFC. 22 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Asian clubs continue pursuit for glory". AFC. 1 July 2019.
  15. ^ a b c "AFC Cup 2019 knockout stage draw confirmed". AFC. 2 July 2019.
  16. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played in Shanghai". AFC. 22 October 2019.
  19. ^ "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played on November 4 in Kuala Lumpur". AFC. 25 October 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Al Ahed's Khalil named MVP". the-afc.com. AFC. 4 November 2019.
  21. ^ "Ceres' Marañón wins Top Scorer Award". the-afc.com. AFC. 4 November 2019.

External links

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