2016 AFC Cup knockout stage


The 2016 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 24 May to 5 November 2016. A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2016 AFC Cup.

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage qualified for the knockout stage. Both West Zone and East Zone had eight qualified teams.

ZoneGroupWinnersRunners-up
West Zone
A

Format


In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie was played as a single match. The away goals rule, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.
Starting from this season, the knockout stage was split between the two zones until the final, similar to the AFC Champions League.

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.

Bracket

The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:
  • Round of 16:
  • Quarterfinals:
  • Semifinals:
  • Final: Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2


Round of 16


In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.
!colspan=3|West Zone
!colspan=3|East Zone

West Zone

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East Zone

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Quarter-finals


In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Zone were drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone were drawn into the other two ties, with the order of legs also decided by the draw.
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 15:00 MYT, at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.
!colspan=5|West Zone
!colspan=5|East Zone

West Zone

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 5–1 on aggregate.
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''Al-Ahed won 3–0 on aggregate.''

East Zone

Johor Darul Ta'zim won 3–2 on aggregate.
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''Bengaluru won 1–0 on aggregate.''

Semi-finals


In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.
!colspan=5|West Zone
!colspan=5|East Zone

West Zone

''Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 4–3 on aggregate.''

East Zone

''Bengaluru won 4–2 on aggregate.''

Final


In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the host team decided by a draw, held after the quarter-final draw.