2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage
The 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage began in the East region on 3 March with the round of 16 and will end on 25 April 2026 with the final to decide the champions of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite.[1][2][3] A total of 16 teams compete in the knockout stage.
The tournament winner will qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Additionally, the winner will enter the league stage of the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite, if they have not already qualified through their domestic performance.[4]
Qualified teams
The top eight teams in the league stage from each region advanced to the round of 16, with eight teams each from West Region and East Region.
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Format
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams will play a single-elimination tournament. The round of 16 will see each team play against team from its region, with cross-regional pairings are made for the quarter-finals. Each tie will be played as a single match, except the round of 16 which will be played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10).[5] The match-ups for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will be determined at a single draw event.
Schedule
The round of 16 for the West region has been postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran War.[6]
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[1]
| Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 | No draw[a] | 3 March 2026 –TBD | 10 March 2026 –TBD |
| Quarter-finals | 25 March | 16–18 April 2026 | ||
| Semi-finals | 20–21 April 2026 | |||
| Final | 25 April 2026 | |||
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Al Sadd | |||||||||||||||||||
| April – Jeddah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Al Hilal | |||||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Al-Duhail | |||||||||||||||||||
| April – Jeddah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Al-Ahli | |||||||||||||||||||
| Winner QF1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Winner QF2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Shabab Al Ahli | |||||||||||||||||||
| April – Jeddah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Tractor | |||||||||||||||||||
| W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Al Wahda | |||||||||||||||||||
| 25 April – Jeddah (KASCSS) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Al-Ittihad | |||||||||||||||||||
| Winner SF1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Winner SF2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Gangwon FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| April – Jeddah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Machida Zelvia | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| E7 | FC Seoul | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| April – Jeddah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Vissel Kobe | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Winner QF3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Winner QF4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| April – Jeddah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| E | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Melbourne City | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Buriram United (p) | 1 | 0 | 1 (4) | ||||||||||||||||
Round of 16
Summary
The West regions Round of 16 fixtures were postponed indefinitely by the AFC due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war.[6][7] The first legs were originally scheduled to be played between 2 and 4 March, with the second legs between 9 and 11 March.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||||
| Al Sadd | 1 | Al Hilal | TBD | TBD |
| Al-Duhail | 2 | Al-Ahli | TBD | TBD |
| Shabab Al Ahli | 3 | Tractor | TBD | TBD |
| Al Wahda | 4 | Al-Ittihad | TBD | TBD |
| East Region | ||||
| Gangwon FC | 0–1 | Machida Zelvia | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| FC Seoul | 1–3 | Vissel Kobe | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 3–2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Melbourne City | 1–1 (2–4 p) | Buriram United | 1–1 | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |
West Region
East Region
Machida Zelvia won 1–0 on aggregate.
| FC Seoul | 0–1 | Vissel Kobe |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Vissel Kobe won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 3–1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1–0 | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Johor Darul Ta'zim won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Melbourne City | 1–1 | Buriram United |
|---|---|---|
| Mazzeo 90+5' | Report | Bissoli 37' |
1–1 on aggregate; Buriram United won 4–2 on penalties.
Finals
The eight winners from the West and East region in the round of 16 will advance to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 17 to 25 April 2026.[9]
The draw for the quarter-finals is scheduled to take place on 18 March 2026.[1] Each quarter-final will feature a team from the West region against a team from the East region. Based on the league stage results, the highest ranked team from the West region and Machida Zelvia will be allocated positions on opposite sides of the tournament bracket, with the draw determining the positions of the other six teams. The team with the highest overall ranking[g] will play in the first quarter-final, while the team with the second highest overall ranking will play in the third quarter-final. The match pairings of the semi-finals and final are pre-determined.[5]
Qualified teams
Venues
The matches will be played in two stadiums in the city of Jeddah.[9]
Location of the host city of the 2026 AFC Champions League Elite finals. |
Jeddah | |
|---|---|---|
| King Abdullah Sports City Stadium |
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | |
| Capacity: 63,079 | Capacity: 27,000 | |
Matches
Final
| Winner SF1 | v | Winner SF2 |
|---|---|---|
Notes
- ^ Pre-determined format
- ^ a b The match was originally scheduled to be played on 3 March 2026, but postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war.[6]
- ^ a b The match was originally scheduled to be played on 10 March 2026, but postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran War.[7]
- ^ a b The match was originally scheduled to be played on 2 March 2026, but postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran War.[6]
- ^ a b The match was originally scheduled to be played on 9 March 2026, but postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran War.[7]
- ^ Tractor are required to play their home matches at neutral venues instead of their regular home stadium, Sahand Stadium, Tabriz, due to security concerns relating to the 2026 Iran massacres.[8]
- ^ If the rank between the highest-seeded clubs of each region is equal, the club with the better overall result in the league stage will be the highest ranked team.
References
- ^ a b c "AFC Competitions Calendar (Jul 2025 - Jun 2026)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ "League Stage draw to unveil epic #ACLElite battles". Asian Football Confederation. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
- ^ "#ACLElite set for lift off". Asian Football Confederation. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ "More Member Associations to benefit from inclusive AFC Champions League". Asian Football Confederation. 23 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ a b "AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 Competition Regulations" (PDF). the AFC. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Statement on AFC Club Competitions". Asian Football Confederation. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ a b c "Second-leg knockout ties of AFC Club Competitions postponed". Asian Football Confederation. 3 March 2026. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ "Iran's bid for normalcy via sport: Matches return but players refuse the script". Iran International. 25 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Venues confirmed for AFC Champions League Elite Finals Jeddah 2026". Asian Football Confederation. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
External links
- AFC Champions League Elite, the-AFC.com