The 2018 AFC Cup final was the final match of the 2018 AFC Cup, the 15th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The final was contested as a single match between Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq and Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan. The match was hosted by Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya at the Basra Sports City in Basra on 27 October 2018.
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won the final 2–0 for their third consecutive and overall AFC Cup title.
Teams TeamZonePrevious finals appearances (bold indicates winners) Al-Quwa Al-JawiyaWest Asia Zone (WAFF)2 (2016, 2017) Altyn AsyrCentral Asia Zone (CAFA)(Inter-zone play-off winner)None
This was Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya's third consecutive AFC Cup final, a record shared with Al-Faisaly (2005 to 2007) and Al-Kuwait (2011 to 2013). If they were to win the final, they would become the first team to win three consecutive AFC Cup titles, and also tie Al-Kuwait as record three-time winners of the AFC Cup.
Altyn Asyr were the first team from Turkmenistan to reach the AFC Cup final. If they were to win the final, they would become the second team from Central Asia to win the AFC Cup, after Nasaf from Uzbekistan in 2011.
Venue
This was the second AFC Cup final played in Iraq, after the 2012 final played at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil. While Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were also the home team in the 2016 AFC Cup Final, they hosted the match at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, as Iraqi teams were not allowed to host their home matches during that time. The ban was lifted in March 2018, and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya played their subsequent home matches at the Karbala Sports City in Karbala.
Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
Al-Quwa Al-JawiyaRound Altyn AsyrOpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult Al-Jazeera2–2 (H)Matchday 1 Alay Osh6–3 (A) Al-Suwaiq1–0 (A)Matchday 2 Istiklol2–2 (H) Malkiya4–3 (A)Matchday 3 Ahal0–0 (A) Al-Jazeera1–1 (A)Matchday 4 Ahal1–0 (H) Malkiya1–1 (H)Matchday 5 Alay Osh5–0 (H) Al-Suwaiq2–0 (H)Matchday 6 Istiklol3–2 (A)Group A runners-upFinal standingsGroup D winnersOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legKnockout stageOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Al-Ahed5–33–1 (H)2–2 (A)Zonal semi-finalsInter-zone play-off semi-finals Bengaluru5–23–2 (A)2–0 (H) Al-Jazeera4–11–0 (A)3–1 (H)Zonal finalsInter-zone play-off final April 253–3 (a)2–2 (A)1–1 (H)
Format The final was played as a single match, with the host team (winners of the West Asia Zonal final) alternated from the previous season's final.
If tied after regulation, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner.
Match
Details
GK 12 Mohammed GassidRB 6 Sameh SaeedCB 5 Ahmed Abdul-RidhaCB 32 Saad NatiqLB 33 Ali Bahjat RM 37 Ibrahim BayeshCM 18 Zaher MidaniCM 42 Mohammed Ali Abboud LM 38 Ali Husni CF 10 Hammadi Ahmad (c)CF 9 Emad Mohsin Substitutes:GK 1 Fahad TalibDF 34 Mustafa MohammedMF 14 Mohsen AbdullahMF 43 Mohammed Qasim FW 7 Karrar Ali FW 17 Ali YousifFW 29 Amjad Radhi Manager: Basim Qasim GK 1 Mammet OrazmuhammedowRB 12 Serdar AnnaorazowCB 4 Mekan SaparowCB 2 Zafar Babajanow LB 24 Gurbangeldi Batyrow CM 14 Umidjan AstanowCM 29 Serdar Geldiýew (c)RW 22 Mekan Aşyrow AM 10 Selim NurmuradovLW 7 Altymyrat AnnadurdyýewCF 39 Wahyt OrazsähedowSubstitutes:GK 16 Nurgeldi AstanowDF 3 Şöhrat Söýünow MF 20 Begmyrat Baýow MF 27 Welmyrat BallakowMF 33 Annasähet AnnasähedowFW 18 Furkat Tursunow FW 30 Mihail TitowManager: Ýazguly Hojageldyýew
Man of the Match: Hammadi Ahmad (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya)
Assistant referees: Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Saoud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar) Fourth official: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar) Fifth official: Juma Al-Burshaid (Qatar)Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if tied. Penalty shoot-out if still tied after extra time. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.
See also 2018 AFC Champions League Final
References
External links , the-AFC.com AFC Cup 2018, stats.the-AFC.com