2025–26 AFC Challenge League knockout stage
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The 2025–26 AFC Challenge League knockout stage began on 5 March with the quarter-finals, and ended on 13 May 2026 with the final being hosted by the West region finalist.[1][2] A total of eight teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2025–26 AFC Challenge League.[3]
Qualified teams
The following teams advanced from the group stage:
- The winners of the groups and the best runner-up in the West Region (Groups A–C).
- The winners and runner-ups of each group in the East Region (Groups D–E).
| Region | Group | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | A |  Al-Shabab |
N/a |
| B |  Al-Kuwait |
 Al-Ansar | |
| C |  Muras United |
N/a | |
| East Region | D |  PKR Svay Rieng |
 Manila Digger |
| E |  Dewa United Banten |
Phnom Penh Crown |
Format
In the knockout stage, the eight teams will play a single-elimination tournament. Each tie will be played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, except the final which is played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winners if necessary. (Regulations Article 10).
| Round | Matchups | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-finals |
| ||
| Semi-finals | (First team listed host first leg, second team listed host second leg)
| ||
| Final | (Winners of West Region semi-finals host match)
|
Schedule
The quarter-finals for the West region was postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war.[4] On March 24, AFC announced that all West Region quarter-finals and semi-finals matches would be changed to single-leg ties at a centralized venue.[5]
The schedule of each round is as follows.[6]
| Stage | Round | East Region | West Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knockout stage | Quarter-finals | 5 March 2026 (First leg) 12 March 2026 (Second leg) |
19 April 2026 |
| Semi-finals | 9 April 2026 (First leg) 16 April 2026 (Second leg) |
22 April 2026 | |
| Final | 13 May 2026 | ||
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Al-Ansar | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Muras United | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Muras United | 1 | |||||||||||||
| West Region | ||||||||||||||
| Al-Kuwait | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Al-Shabab | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Al-Kuwait | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Al-Kuwait (a.e.t.) | 4 | |||||||||||||
| PKR Svay Rieng | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Phnom Penh Crown | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| PKR Svay Rieng | 4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||
| PKR Svay Rieng | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||
| East Region | ||||||||||||||
| Manila Digger | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Manila Digger | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Dewa United Banten | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
Quarter-finals
Summary
The West regions quarter-finals fixtures were postponed indefinitely by the AFC due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war.[7] The first legs for the East Region were played on 5 March, with the second legs on 12 March. The fixtures in the West Region were shortened to a single leg to be played on 19 April.[8]
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Region | ||||
| Phnom Penh Crown | 2–6 | PKR Svay Rieng | 1–4 | 1–2 |
| Manila Digger | 3–2 | Dewa United Banten | 1–0 | 2–2 |
West Region
East Region
| Phnom Penh Crown | 1–4 | PKR Svay Rieng |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng won 6–2 on aggregate.
Manila Digger won 3–2 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
Summary
The first legs for the East Region were played on 9 April, with the second legs on 16 April 2026. The single-legged fixture for the West Region was played on 22 April.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||
| Muras United | 1–2 | Al-Kuwait |
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Region | ||||
| PKR Svay Rieng | 4–1 | Manila Digger | 1–1 | 3–0 |
West Region
| Muras United | 1–2 | Al-Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
East Region
| PKR Svay Rieng | 1–1 | Manila Digger |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng won 4–1 on aggregate.
Final
The final took place on 13 May 2026, with the team from the West Region hosting the final. The winners also qualified for the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Two group stage, unless they have already qualified for the Champions League Two through their league performance.
Notes
- Due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war, the AFC decided to play a one-legged tie at a neutral venue.[8]