The 2021 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 25 August to 5 November 2021. A total of 8 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the

2021 AFC Cup The 2021 AFC Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The winners of the tournament automatically qualified for the 2022 AFC Champions League, enterin ...

. Teams from ASEAN Zone did not compete in the knockout stage, due to the cancellation of group stage matches in ASEAN Zone.

Qualified teams

The following teams advanced from the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

: *The winners of each of the three groups and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) advanced to the Zonal semi-finals. *The winners of each group in the South Asia Zone (Group D), and the East Asia Zone (Group J) advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals. *The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone (Groups E–F) advanced to the Zonal finals.

Format

In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. Each tie was played as a single match.

Extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

and

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

were used to decide the winners if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3 and 10.1).

Schedule

The schedule of each round is as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone). Matches in the West Asia Zone will be played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the Central Zone and the Inter-zone play-offs will be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Bracket

The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:

Zonal semi-finals

Summary

The West Asia Zonal semi-finals were played over one leg, with the home team determined by the draw mechanism based on which group runners-up qualify. If a group winner played a group runner-up, the group winner hosted the match. If two group winners played each other, one of the group winner (whose group runner-up qualify) hosted the match. , +West Asia Zone , +ASEAN Zone

West Asia Zone

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Zonal finals

Summary

The West Asia and Central Asia Zonal final were played over one leg, with the home team decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the Central Asia Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals. , +West Asia Zone , +Central Asia Zone , +ASEAN Zone

West Asia Zone

Central Asia Zone

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

Summary

After matches in ASEAN Zone was cancelled, there were only three teams which qualified to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, i.e., the winners of the South Asia Zone (Group D), the winners of the East Asia Zone (Group J), and the winners of the Central Zonal final. The three Zonal champions were drawn into two pairings where one club got a bye to the Inter-zone play-off final, which happened for Lee Man. The matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding with the winner of Central Zonal Final hosting the match and the winner of South Asia Zone being the away team.

Matches

Inter-zone play-off final

Summary

In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two teams which advanced from the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals played 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 advanced to the final.

Matches

Final

The final was played over one leg, between the winners of the West Asia Zonal final and the winners of the Inter-zone play-off final. The home team was determined on a rotation basis, with the match hosted by the winners of the West Asia Zonal final, as in the case of odd-numbered years (Regulations 9.1.2).

References

External links

*, the-AFC.com
AFC Cup 2021
, stats.the-AFC.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Afc Cup Knockout Stage 2021 *3 August 2021 sports events in Asia September 2021 sports events in Asia October 2021 sports events in Asia November 2021 sports events in Asia