2015 AFC Cup knockout stage

The 2015 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 26 May to 31 October 2015. A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2015 AFC Cup.[1]

Qualified teams edit

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 had eight teams qualified.

Zone Group Winners Runners-up
West Zone
(Groups A–D)
A   Al-Wehdat   Al-Wahda
B   Al-Shorta   Al-Jazeera
C   Istiklol   Al-Qadsia
D   Al-Jaish   Al-Kuwait
East Zone
(Groups E–H)
E   Persipura Jayapura   Bengaluru FC
F   Johor Darul Ta'zim   Kitchee
G   South China   Pahang
H   Persib Bandung   Ayeyawady United

Format edit

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. 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.[1]

Schedule edit

The schedule of each round was as follows.[2]

Round First leg Second leg
Round of 16 26–27 May 2015
Quarter-finals 25–26 August 2015 15–16 September 2015
Semi-finals 29–30 September 2015 20–21 October 2015
Final 31 October 2015

Bracket edit

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group in the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.[1] The matchups were determined as follows:

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 June 2015, 15:00 UTC+8, at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3] Teams from different zones could be drawn into the same tie, and there was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.[4]

In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined by the quarter-final draw: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2 and Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4, with winners QF2 and QF4 hosting the second leg.[4]

In the final, the host team was determined by a draw, held after the quarter-final draw.[4]

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
  Al-Shorta 0
  Al-Kuwait 2
  Al-Kuwait 6 1 7
  Kitchee 0 1 1
  Persib Bandung 0
  Kitchee 2
  Al-Kuwait 4
  Istiklol (w/o) 0
  Istiklol (pen.) 1(4)
  Al-Wahda 1(2)
  Istiklol 4 1 5
  Pahang 0 3 3
  Persipura Jayapura 0
  Pahang (awd.) 3
  Istiklol 0
  Johor Darul Ta'zim 1
  Al-Wehdat 0
  Al-Qadsia 1
  Al-Qadsia 3 0 3
  Al-Jaish 0 2 2
  Al-Jaish 1
  Al-Jazeera 0
  Al-Qadsia 3
  Johor Darul Ta'zim (w/o) 1
  Johor Darul Ta'zim 5
  Ayeyawady United 0
  Johor Darul Ta'zim 1 3 4
  South China 1 1 2
  South China 2
  Bengaluru FC 0

Round of 16 edit

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Al-Wehdat   0–1   Al-Qadsia
Istiklol   1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
  Al-Wahda
Al-Shorta   0–2   Al-Kuwait
Al-Jaish   1–0   Al-Jazeera
East Zone
Persipura Jayapura   0–3 (awd.)   Pahang
South China   2–0   Bengaluru FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim   5–0   Ayeyawady United
Persib Bandung   0–2   Kitchee
Persipura Jayapura  Cancelled
0–3 (Awarded)
  Pahang
Report

The Persipura Jayapura v Pahang match was not played as scheduled as Pahang players were denied entry into Indonesia due to visa issues.[5] The AFC announced on 10 June 2015 that as a result, Persipura Jayapura forfeited the match and was considered to have lost the match by 3–0, based on the AFC Cup 2015 Competition Regulations and the AFC Disciplinary Code.[6]


South China  2–0  Bengaluru FC
McBreen   28' (pen.), 58' Report

Istiklol  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Al-Wahda
Al Kurdi   34' (o.g.) Report Al Kurdi   21'
Penalties
Davronov  
Nazarov  
Fatkhuloev  
Umarbaev  
4–2   Omari
  Kataya
  Hamdoko
  Khadouj
Attendance: 17,100
Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)

Al-Wehdat  0–1  Al-Qadsia
Report Al Ansari   76'
Attendance: 10,000

Persib Bandung  0–2  Kitchee
Report Belencoso   32'
Lam Ka Wai   44'
Attendance: 12,352
Referee: Dmitriy Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)

Johor Darul Ta'zim  5–0  Ayeyawady United
Safiq   1'
Figueroa   46', 90+1'
Díaz   61', 74'
Report

Al-Jaish  1–0  Al-Jazeera
Sharifa   90' (pen.) Report

Al-Shorta  0–2  Al-Kuwait
Report Al Buraiki   80' (pen.)
Rogerinho   90+4'
Attendance: 165
Referee: Tan Hai (China)
Notes
  1. ^
    Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
  2. ^
    Teams from Iraq were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

Quarter-finals edit

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Qadsia   3–2   Al-Jaish 3–0 0–2
Johor Darul Ta'zim   4–2   South China 1–1 3–1
Al-Kuwait   7–1   Kitchee 6–0 1–1
Istiklol   5–3   Pahang 4–0 1–3

First leg edit

Johor Darul Ta'zim  1–1  South China
Figueroa   49' (pen.) Report Awal   63'
Attendance: 14,700
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Al-Qadsia  3–0  Al-Jaish
Al Ansari   12'
Fuakumputu   64'
Al-Mutawa   69'
Report

Istiklol  4–0  Pahang
Chahjouyi   35'
Vasiev   36', 77'
Makhmudov   51'
Report
Attendance: 15,000

Al-Kuwait  6–0  Kitchee
Rogerinho   12', 52'
Al Enezi   21'
Hammami   45+4'
Vinícius   82' (pen.)
Al Kandari   90+2'
Report

Second leg edit

South China  1–3  Johor Darul Ta'zim
Awal   28' Report Mahali   26'
Safee   30', 45+2'
Attendance: 6,412

Johor Darul Ta'zim won 4–2 on aggregate.


Al-Jaish  2–0  Al-Qadsia
Ebrahim   35' (o.g.)
Al-Baher   51'
Report

Al-Qadsia won 3–2 on aggregate.


Kitchee  1–1  Al-Kuwait
Paulinho   9' Report Al Hajri   49'

Al-Kuwait won 7–1 on aggregate.


Pahang  3–1  Istiklol
Hafiz   31', 58'
Saarvindran   90+2'
Report Makhmudov   61'

Istiklol won 5–3 on aggregate.

Notes
  1. ^
    Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

Semi-finals edit

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Qadsia   w/o   Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–1 Cancelled
Al-Kuwait   w/o   Istiklol 4–0 Cancelled

First leg edit

Al-Qadsia  3-1  Johor Darul Ta'zim
Fuakumputu   33'
Al-Mutawa   42' (pen.)
Soumah   58'
Report Amri   82'

Al-Kuwait  4–0  Istiklol
Vinícius   40', 80' (pen.), 86' (pen.)
Al Harbi   90+2'
Report

Second leg edit

On 16 October 2015, the Kuwait Football Association was suspended by FIFA.[7] As a result, both Al-Qadsia and Al-Kuwait were no longer eligible to compete in the AFC Cup. The second legs of both semi-finals were cancelled, and Johor Darul Ta'zim and Istiklol advanced to the final by walkover.[8]


Final edit

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Istiklol   0–1   Johor Darul Ta'zim
Istiklol  0–1  Johor Darul Ta'zim
Report Velázquez   23'
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "AFC Cup 2015 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  2. ^ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2015" (PDF). AFC.
  3. ^ "AFC Cup 2015 Quarter-finals draw concluded". AFC. 18 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "Stage set for AFC Cup quarter-finals draw". AFC. 16 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Statement on Persipura Jayapura v Pahang FA AFC Cup Round of 16 fixture". AFC. 25 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Persipura Jayapura forfeit AFC Cup match v Pahang FA". AFC. 10 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Suspension of the Kuwait Football Association". FIFA.com. 16 October 2015. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015.
  8. ^ "FIFA Suspension of Kuwait FA: AFC Cup implications". AFC. 17 October 2015.

External links edit