The 2018 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 22 January to 20 February 2018. 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.
Teams 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: 6 teams entered in the preliminary round. 7 teams entered in the play-off round.
ZoneTeams entering in play-off roundTeams entering in preliminary roundWest Asia Zone Al-Suwaiq Hilal Al-QudsCentral Asia Zone Khujand Ahal DordoiSouth Asia Zone Bengaluru TC Sports Saif Transport UnitedASEAN Zone Lao Toyota Boeung Ket AngkorEast Asia Zone Hwaebul Erchim
Format
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.
Schedule 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).
RoundWAC, S, EFirst legSecond legFirst legSecond legFirst legSecond legPreliminary roundNot played23 January 201830 January 2018Play-off round22 January 201829 January 201829 January 20182 February 201813 February 201820 February 2018
Bracket
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.
Play-off West Asia Al-Suwaiq advanced to Group A.
Play-off Central Asia Ahal advanced to Group D.
Play-off South Asia Bengaluru advanced to Group E.
Play-off ASEAN Boeung Ket Angkor advanced to Group F.
Play-off East Asia Hwaebul advanced to Group I.
Preliminary round Summary A total of six teams played in the preliminary round.
|+Central Asia Zone
|+South Asia Zone
Central Asia Zone
Ahal won 5–3 on aggregate.
South Asia Zone
Bengaluru won 3–0 on aggregate.
TC Sports won 4–1 on aggregate.
Play-off round Summary 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.
|+West Asia Zone
|+Central Asia Zone
|+South Asia Zone
|+ASEAN Zone
|+East Asia Zone
West Asia Zone
Al-Suwaiq won 2–1 on aggregate.
Central Asia Zone
Ahal won 3–0 on aggregate.
South Asia Zone
Bengaluru won 8–2 on aggregate.
ASEAN Zone
Boeung Ket Angkor won 4–3 on aggregate.
East Asia Zone
Hwaebul won 7–0 on aggregate.
Notes
References
External links , the-AFC.com AFC Cup 2018, stats.the-AFC.com