2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage
Asia premier club football tournament
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The 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage began in the East region on 3 March with the round of 16, and ended 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 competed in the knockout stage.
The tournament winner qualified for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Additionally, the winner entered 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 played a single-elimination tournament. The round of 16 saw each team play against team from its region, with cross-regional pairings made for the quarter-finals. Each tie was played as a single match, except the round of 16 which was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10).[5] The match-ups for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final were determined at a single draw event.
Schedule
The round of 16 for the West Region was postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war.[6] On 24 March, the AFC announced that all West Region round of 16 ties would be changed to single-leg ties at a centralised venue.[7]
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[1]
| Stage | Round | Draw date | East Region | West Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 | No draw[a] | 3 March 2026 (first leg) 10 March 2026 (second leg) |
13–14 April 2026 |
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 April – Jeddah (Al-Faisal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 |  Al Hilal | 3 (2) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 April – Jeddah (Al-Faisal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W8 |  Al Sadd (p) | 3 (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Al Sadd | 3 (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| E2 |  Vissel Kobe (p) | 3 (5) | ||||||||||||||||||
| E7 |  FC Seoul | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 20 April – Jeddah (King Abdullah) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Vissel Kobe | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Vissel Kobe | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 April – Jeddah (King Abdullah) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Al-Ahli | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Al-Ahli (a.e.t.) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 17 April – Jeddah (King Abdullah) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Al-Duhail | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Al-Ahli | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E6 |  Johor Darul Ta'zim | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 25 April – Jeddah (King Abdullah) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Al-Ahli (a.e.t.) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Machida Zelvia | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Gangwon FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 17 April – Jeddah (Al-Faisal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Machida Zelvia | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Machida Zelvia | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 April – Jeddah (King Abdullah) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Al-Ittihad | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Al-Ittihad (a.e.t.) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 21 April – Jeddah (Al-Faisal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W5 |  Al Wahda | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Machida Zelvia | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Shabab Al Ahli | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| E5 |  Melbourne City | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 18 April – Jeddah (Al-Faisal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 |  Buriram United (p) | 1 | 0 | 1 (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Buriram United | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 April – Jeddah (Al-Faisal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Shabab Al Ahli (a.e.t.) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W3 |  Tractor | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Shabab Al Ahli | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Round of 16
Summary
The first legs for the East Region were played on 3 and 4 March, with the second legs played on 10 and 11 March.
The West Region round of 16 fixtures (originally scheduled for March 2026) were postponed by the AFC due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war.[6][8] The format changed to single-leg ties, held on 13 and 14 April in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[9]
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| Al-Hilal | 3–3 (a.e.t.) | Al Sadd |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | |
| Penalties | ||
| 2–4 | ||
| Tractor | 0–3 | Shabab Al Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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East Region
Machida Zelvia won 1–0 on aggregate.
| FC Seoul | 0–1 | Vissel Kobe |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Thuler  23' |
Vissel Kobe won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 3–1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | Nené  86' (o.g.) |
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 Regions in the round of 16 advanced to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 17 to 25 April 2026.[10]
The draw for the quarter-finals took place on 25 March 2026.[1][11] As the West Region round of 16 fixtures were postponed by the AFC due to the impacts of the 2026 Iran war,[6][8] participating clubs from the West Region had not yet been determined at the time of the draw. The AFC allocated placeholders for the West Region based on the results of the higher-seeded team in each round of 16 fixture, which meant if the team with the lower coefficient advanced, it simply took the seeding of its opponent.
Based on the league stage results, the two highest-ranked teams overall based on merit (i.e. all first-placed teams in each region are ranked above all second-placed teams, etc.), the winner of the tie between Al Hilal and Al Sadd from West Region and Machida Zelvia from the East region were 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[c] played in the first quarter-final, while the team with the second-highest overall ranking played in the third quarter-final. The remaining quarter-final fixtures were determined by an open draw, with each fixture featuring a team from the West and East Regions. The match pairings of the semi-finals and final were pre-determined.[5]
| Rank | Team | Grp | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machida Zelvia | E | 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 17 |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | W | 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 9 | +12 | 17 |
| 3 | Vissel Kobe | E | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 16 |
| 4 | Al-Ittihad | W | 4 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 15 |
| 5 | Buriram United | E | 4 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 14 |
| 6 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | E | 6 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 11 |
| 7 | Shabab Al Ahli | W | 6 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 11 |
| 8 | Al-Sadd | W | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −4 | 8 |
All times are local (AST).
Venues
The matches were played in two stadiums in the city of Jeddah.[10]
| Jeddah | |
|---|---|
| King Abdullah Sports City Stadium |
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium |
| Capacity: 62,345 | Capacity: 27,000 |
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Matches
Quarter-finals
| Machida Zelvia | 1–0 | Al-Ittihad |
|---|---|---|
| Yengi 31' |
Report |
Semi-finals
| Machida Zelvia | 1–0 | Shabab Al Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Sōma 13' |
Report |
Final
| Al-Ahli | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Machida Zelvia |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Buraikan 96' |
Report |
Notes
- Pre-determined format
- Due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran war, the AFC decided to play a one-legged tie.[9]
- If the rank between the highest-seeded clubs overall by each region was equal, the club with the better overall result in the league stage was the highest-ranked team.