The 2018 AFC Cup group stage was played from 10 February to 16 May 2018.[1] A total of 36 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 11 places in the knockout stage of the 2018 AFC Cup.[2]
The draw for the group stage will be held on 6 December 2017, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8). The 36 teams are 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.
Note: The following teams and seeding are to be confirmed and to be decided by draw.
- Standby teams[note 3]
In the group stage, each group is played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advance to the knockout stage:
- The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advance to the Zonal semi-finals.
- The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone advance to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.
In the event that a group contains only three teams, it may be played on a double round-robin basis hosted by two of the teams if at least two of the three teams agree to this format (Regulations Article 10.1.7).[2]
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):[2]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
- 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);
- Team from the higher-ranked association.
The schedule of each matchday is as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).[1] Matches in the West Asia Zone are played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, the ASEAN Zone, and the East Asia Zone are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
| Matchday
|
Dates
|
Matches
|
| W, A
|
C, S, E
|
| Matchday 1
|
12–14 February 2018
|
6–7 March 2018
|
Team 1 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 2
|
| Matchday 2
|
26–28 February 2018
|
13–14 March 2018
|
Team 4 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 1
|
| Matchday 3
|
5–7 March 2018
|
10–11 April 2018
|
Team 4 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 3
|
| Matchday 4
|
12–14 March 2018
|
24–25 April 2018
|
Team 2 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 1
|
| Matchday 5
|
9–11 April 2018
|
1–2 May 2018
|
Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 2 vs. Team 3
|
| Matchday 6
|
23–25 April 2018
|
15–16 May 2018
|
Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
|
Ranking of second-placed teams
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j The seeding of the first and second group stage teams from Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain, and Lebanon will be determined by draw.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j The seeding of the first and second group stage teams from Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Singapore will be determined by draw.
- ^ The standby teams would replace a team from the same association which played in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage.
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya[note 1]
Al-Jaish[note 1]
Al-Faisaly[note 1]
Malkiya[note 1]
Al-Ahed[note 1]
Dhofar
TBD (Winner Play-off West Asia)
Istiklol
Turkmenistan 1
Alay Osh
Aizawl
New Radiant
Bangladesh 1
FLC Thanh Hóa[note 2]
Philippines 1[note 2]
Bali United[note 2]
Tampines Rovers[note 2]
Shan United[note 2]
Johor Darul Ta'zim
North Korea 1
Tatung
Benfica de Macau