2023–24 AFC Cup group stage

The 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage was played from 18 September to 11 December 2023.[1] A total of 36 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 11 places in the knockout stage of the 2023–24 AFC Cup.

Draw[edit]

The draw for the group stage was held on 24 August 2023 at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four teams: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), one group in the Central Asia Zone (Groups E), and one group each in the South Asia Zone (Group D) and the East Asia Zone (Group I). For each zone, teams were seeded into four pots and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking and their seeding within their association, in consideration of technical balance between groups. Teams from the same association in zones with more than one group (West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone) could not be drawn into the same group.

Zone Groups Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
West Asia Zone A–C Jordan Al-Wehdat Kuwait Al-Kuwait State of Palestine Jabal Al-Mukaber Kuwait Al-Arabi
Iraq Al-Zawraa Bahrain Al-Riffa Iraq Al-Kahrabaa Syria Al-Ittihad
(Winners of West Asia Play-off)
Lebanon Al-Ahed Syria Al-Fotuwa Lebanon Nejmeh Oman Al-Nahda
(Winners of West Asia Play-off)
South Asia Zone D India Odisha Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings Maldives Maziya India Mohun Bagan
(Winners of South Asia Play-off)
Central Asia Zone E Tajikistan Ravshan Kulob Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr Kyrgyzstan Abdysh-Ata Kant Turkmenistan Merw Mary
(Winners of Central Asia Play-off)
ASEAN Zone F–H Vietnam Hai Phong Australia Macarthur FC Myanmar Shan United Australia Central Coast Mariners
Philippines DH Cebu Singapore Hougang United Philippines Stallion Laguna Indonesia PSM Makassar
(Winners of ASEAN Play-off)
Malaysia Terengganu Indonesia Bali United Malaysia Sabah Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown
(Winners of ASEAN Play-off)
East Asia Zone I Macau Chao Pak Kei Chinese Taipei Taiwan Steel Mongolia FC Ulaanbaatar Chinese Taipei Taichung Futuro
(Winners of East Asia Play-off)

Format[edit]

In the group stage, each group is played on a home-and-away round-robin format. The following teams will advance to the knockout stage:

  • The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advance to the Zonal semi-finals.
  • The winners of each group in the South Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone and the East Asia Zone advance to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

Tiebreakers[edit]

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 8.3):[2]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams playing each other in the last round of the group are tied;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Association ranking;
  10. Drawing of lots.

Schedule[edit]

The schedule of each matchday was as follows.[1]

Matchday Dates
West South Central ASEAN East
Matchday 1 18–19 September 2023 20–21 September 2023
Matchday 2 2–3 October 2023 4–5 October 2023
Matchday 3 23–24 October 2023 25–26 October 2023
Matchday 4 6–7 November 2023 8–9 November 2023
Matchday 5 27–28 November 2023 29–30 November 2023
Matchday 6 11–12 December 2023 13–14 December 2023

Group A[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ALN AHD FUT JAB
1 Oman Al-Nahda 4 3 0 1 6 4 +2 9 Zonal semi-finals — 2–1 2–1 4–0
2 Lebanon Al-Ahed 4 2 0 2 5 5 0 6 2–1 — 2–1 23 Oct
3 Syria Al-Fotuwa 4 1 0 3 3 5 −2 3 0–1 1–0 — 27 Nov
4 State of Palestine Jabal Al-Mukaber 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew[a] 12 Dec 6 Nov 1–0 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ On 26 November 2023, Jabal Al-Mukaber announced their withdrawal from the competition due to the Israel–Hamas war.[3]
Al Ahed Lebanon2–1Oman Al-Nahda
 Report
Attendance: 1,123
Referee: Halim Aqa Shirzad (Afghanistan)
Jabal Al-Mukaber State of PalestineVoided
(1–0)		Syria Al-Fotuwa
 Report
Attendance: 600
Referee: Mohammad Mofeed Naser Ghabayen (Jordan)
Al-Nahda OmanVoided
(4–0)		State of Palestine Jabal Al-Mukaber
 Report
Attendance: 325
Referee: Ismaeel Habib Ali (Bahrain)
Al-Fotuwa Syria1–0Lebanon Al Ahed
Juned 67' Report
Attendance: 450
Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed (Iraq)
Al-Nahda Oman2–1Syria Al-Fotuwa
 Report
Attendance: 580
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Al Ahed LebanonCancelledState of Palestine Jabal Al-Mukaber
Source
Al-Fotuwa Syria0–1Oman Al-Nahda
Report
Attendance: 100
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
Jabal Al-Mukaber State of PalestineCancelledLebanon Al Ahed
Report
Al-Nahda Oman2–1Lebanon Al Ahed
 Report
Attendance: 486
Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)
Al-Fotuwa SyriaCancelledState of Palestine Jabal Al-Mukaber
Report
Al Ahed Lebanon2–1Syria Al-Fotuwa
 Report
Attendance: 257
Jabal Al-Mukaber State of PalestineCancelledOman Al-Nahda
Report

Group B[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification KAH WHD KSC ITT
1 Iraq Al-Kahrabaa 6 4 1 1 10 5 +5 13 Zonal semi-finals — 3–1 0–0 3–1
2 Jordan Al-Wehdat 6 3 1 2 10 7 +3 10 3–1 — 1–1 2–0
3 Kuwait Al-Kuwait 6 1 4 1 5 5 0 7 0–1 2–1 — 1–1
4 Syria Al-Ittihad 6 0 2 4 3 11 −8 2 0–2 0–2 1–1 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Al-Wehdat Jordan2–0Syria Al-Ittihad
 Report
Attendance: 10,231
Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)
Al-Kahrabaa Iraq0–0Kuwait Al-Kuwait
Report
Attendance: 3,121
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)
Al-Ittihad Syria0–2Iraq Al-Kahrabaa
Report
Attendance: 130
Al-Kuwait Kuwait2–1Jordan Al-Wehdat
 Report
Attendance: 2,700
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Al-Ittihad Syria1–1Kuwait Al-Kuwait
 Report
Attendance: 114
Referee: Gamini Nivon Robesh (Sri Lanka)
Al-Wehdat Jordan3–1Iraq Al-Kahrabaa
 Report
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: Baraa Aisha (Palestine)
Al-Kuwait Kuwait1–1Syria Al-Ittihad
 Report
Attendance: 120
Referee: Seyed Vahid Kazemi (Iran)
Al-Kahrabaa Iraq3–1Jordan Al-Wehdat
 Report
Attendance: 1,100
Al-Ittihad Syria0–2Jordan Al-Wehdat
Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif (Saudi Arabia)
Attendance: 400
Referee: Ismaeel Habib Ali (Bahrain)
Al-Kuwait Kuwait0–1Iraq Al-Kahrabaa
Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)
Al-Wehdat Jordan1–1Kuwait Al-Kuwait
 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Faisal Alblwi (Saudi Arabia)
Al-Kahrabaa Iraq3–1Syria Al-Ittihad
 Report
Attendance: 650
Referee: Mouood Bonyadifar (Iran)

Group C[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RIF ZWR ARA NEJ
1 Bahrain Al-Riffa 6 4 1 1 15 5 +10 13 Zonal semi-finals — 1–1 2–1 6–1
2 Iraq Al-Zawraa 6 3 2 1 11 7 +4 11 2–1 — 1–2 4–1
3 Kuwait Al-Arabi 6 2 2 2 6 8 −2 8 0–3 1–1 — 0–0
4 Lebanon Nejmeh 6 0 1 5 4 16 −12 1 0–2 1–2 1–2 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Al-Zawraa Iraq1–2Kuwait Al-Arabi
 Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Seyed Vahid Kazemi (Iran)
Nejmeh Lebanon0–2Bahrain Al-Riffa
Report Jasim Al-Shaikh 35'
Ali Hasan Saeed Isa 41'
Attendance: 862
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Al-Arabi Kuwait0–0Lebanon Nejmeh
Report
Attendance: 3,500
Al-Riffa Bahrain1–1Iraq Al-Zawraa
Vargas 77' Report Jabbar 5'
Attendance: 792
Al-Arabi Kuwait0–3Bahrain Al-Riffa
Report
Attendance: 1,980
Al-Zawraa Iraq4–1Lebanon Nejmeh
 Report
Attendance: 6,372
Referee: Ahmad Yacoub Ibrahim (Jordan)
Al-Riffa Bahrain2–1Kuwait Al-Arabi
 Report
Attendance: 1,310
Referee: Payam Heydari (Iran)
Nejmeh Lebanon1–2Iraq Al-Zawraa
 Report
King Fahd Sports City, Taif (Saudi Arabia)
Attendance: 140
Al-Arabi Kuwait1–1Iraq Al-Zawraa
 Report
Attendance: 1,070
Al-Riffa Bahrain6–1Lebanon Nejmeh
 Report
Attendance: 664
Referee: Kim Woo-Sung (South Korea)
Al-Zawraa Iraq2–1Bahrain Al-Riffa
 Report
Attendance: 2,127
Referee: Mohammed Ahmed Al-Shammari (Qatar)
Nejmeh Lebanon1–2Kuwait Al-Arabi
 Report
Attendance: 400
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)

Group D[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ODI BDK MBSG MAZ
1 India Odisha 6 4 0 2 17 12 +5 12 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 1–0 0–4 6–1
2 Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings 6 3 1 2 10 10 0 10 3–2 — 2–1 2–1
3 India Mohun Bagan SG 6 2 1 3 11 11 0 7 2–5 2–2 — 2–1
4 Maldives Maziya 6 2 0 4 9 14 −5 6 2–3 3–1 1–0 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Odisha India0–4India Mohun Bagan
Report
Attendance: 5,218
Maziya Maldives3–1Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings
 Report
Attendance: 874
Mohun Bagan India2–1Maldives Maziya
 Report
Attendance: 26,795
Referee: Payam Heydari (Iran)
Bashundhara Kings Bangladesh3–2India Odisha
 Report
Attendance: 7,137
Referee: Mohammad Hasan Mahmoud Arafah (Jordan)
Odisha India6–1Maldives Maziya
 Report
Attendance: 2,218
Mohun Bagan India2–2Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings
 Report
Attendance: 150
Referee: Clifford Postanes Daypuyat (Philippines)
Bashundhara Kings Bangladesh2–1India Mohun Bagan
 Report Liston 17'
Attendance: 7,137
Maziya Maldives2–3India Odisha
 Report
Attendance: 240
Referee: Mohammad Hasan Mahmoud Arafah (Jordan)
Mohun Bagan India2–5India Odisha
 Report
Attendance: 15,988
Referee: Gamini Nivon Robesh (Sri Lanka)
Bashundhara Kings Bangladesh2–1Maldives Maziya
 Report
Attendance: 6,552
Referee: Mohammad Hasan Mahmoud Arafah (Jordan)
Odisha India1–0Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings
 Report
Attendance: 5,132
Referee: Ngô Duy Lân (Vietnam)
Maziya Maldives1–0India Mohun Bagan
 Report
Attendance: 100
Referee: Daiyrbek Abdyldaev (Kyrgyzstan)

Group E[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ABD ALT MRW RAV
1 Kyrgyzstan Abdysh-Ata Kant 6 5 1 0 18 6 +12 16 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 3–0 8–3 1–0
2 Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr 6 3 1 2 7 9 −2 10 2–4 — 1–0 1–1
3 Turkmenistan Merw Mary 6 0 3 3 6 13 −7 3 1–1 1–2 — 1–1
4 Tajikistan Ravshan Kulob 6 0 3 3 2 5 −3 3 0–1 0–1 0–0 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Ravshan Kulob Tajikistan0–0Turkmenistan Merw Mary
Report
Attendance: 6,750
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)
Abdysh-Ata Kant Kyrgyzstan3–0Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr
 Report
Attendance: 1,505
Referee: Khalid Marhoun Sulaiman Al Shaqsi (Oman)
Merw Mary Turkmenistan1–1Kyrgyzstan Abdysh-Ata Kant
 Report
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Tam Ping Wun (Hong Kong)
Altyn Asyr Turkmenistan1–1Tajikistan Ravshan Kulob
 Report
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)
Merw Mary Turkmenistan1–2Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr
 Report
Attendance: 8,950
Ravshan Kulob Tajikistan0–1Kyrgyzstan Abdysh-Ata Kant
Report
Attendance: 4,300
Referee: Chae Sang-Hyeop (South Korea)
Altyn Asyr Turkmenistan1–0Turkmenistan Merw Mary
 Report
Attendance: 10,070
Referee: Ismaeel Habib Ali (Bahrain)
Abdysh-Ata Kant Kyrgyzstan1–0Tajikistan Ravshan Kulob
 Report
Attendance: 1,565
Referee: Khalid Marhoun Sulaiman Al Shaqsi (Oman)
Merw Mary Turkmenistan1–1Tajikistan Ravshan Kulob
 Report
Attendance: 9,515
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)
Altyn Asyr Turkmenistan2–4Kyrgyzstan Abdysh-Ata Kant
 Report
Attendance: 11,212
Ravshan Kulob Tajikistan0–1Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr
Report
Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Mongkolchai Pechsri (Thailand)
Abdysh-Ata Kant Kyrgyzstan8–3Turkmenistan Merw Mary
 Report
Attendance: 155
Referee: Shen Yinhao (China)

Group F[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MAC CRO DHC SHN
1 Australia Macarthur FC 6 5 0 1 23 5 +18 15 Zonal semi-finals — 5–0 8–2 4–0
2 Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown 6 4 0 2 15 7 +8 12 3–0 — 4–0 4–0
3 Philippines DH Cebu 6 1 1 4 4 19 −15 4[a] 0–3 0–3 — 1–0
4 Myanmar Shan United 6 1 1 4 3 14 −11 4[a] 0–3 2–1 1–1 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked on head-to-head points: DH Cebu 4, Shan United 1.
DH Cebu Philippines0–3Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown
Report
Attendance: 393
Referee: Ismaeel Habib Ali (Bahrain)
Shan United Myanmar0–3Australia Macarthur FC
Report
Attendance: 3,200
Referee: Tam Ping Wun (Hong Kong)
Phnom Penh Crown Cambodia4–0Myanmar Shan United
 Report
Attendance: 2,719
Referee: Chae Sang-Hyeop (South Korea)
Macarthur FC Australia8–2Philippines DH Cebu
 Report
Attendance: 2,012
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara (Japan)
Phnom Penh Crown Cambodia3–0Australia Macarthur FC
 Report
Attendance: 4,789
Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed (Iraq)
DH Cebu Philippines1–0Myanmar Shan United
 Report
Attendance: 136
Referee: Adam Fazeel (Maldives)
Macarthur FC Australia5–0Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown
 Report
Attendance: 1,582
Referee: Kim Woo-Sung (South Korea)
Shan United Myanmar1–1Philippines DH Cebu
 Report
Attendance: 1,100
Referee: Mohamed Javiz (Maldives)
Phnom Penh Crown Cambodia4–0Philippines DH Cebu
 Report
Attendance: 3,267
Referee: Chen Hsin-chuan (Chinese Taipei)
Macarthur FC Australia4–0Myanmar Shan United
 Report
Attendance: 67
DH Cebu Philippines0–3Australia Macarthur FC
Report
Attendance: 130
Referee: Yudi Nurcahya (Indonesia)
Shan United Myanmar2–1Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown
 Report
Attendance: 1,100
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar (India)

Group G[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CCM TFC BUF STA
1 Australia Central Coast Mariners 6 4 1 1 21 7 +14 13 Zonal semi-finals — 1–1 6–3 9–1
2 Malaysia Terengganu 6 3 3 0 10 6 +4 12 1–0 — 2–0 2–2
3 Indonesia Bali United 6 2 1 3 15 15 0 7 1–2 1–1 — 5–2
4 Philippines Stallion Laguna 6 0 1 5 9 27 −18 1 0–3 2–3 2–5 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Terengganu Malaysia1–0Australia Central Coast Mariners
 Report
Attendance: 5,996
Referee: Al Majarafi Mahmood Salim Said (Oman)
Stallion Laguna Philippines2–5Indonesia Bali United
 Report
Attendance: 350
Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed (Iraq)
Central Coast Mariners Australia9–1Philippines Stallion Laguna
 Report
Attendance: 4,037
Referee: Gamini Nivon Robesh (Sri Lanka)
Bali United Indonesia1–1Malaysia Terengganu
Mbarga 54' Report Syahmi 84'
Attendance: 2,180
Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)
Central Coast Mariners Australia6–3Indonesia Bali United
 Report
Attendance: 1,820
Referee: Kim Woo-Sung (South Korea)
Terengganu Malaysia2–2Philippines Stallion Laguna
 Report
Attendance: 1,220
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)
Bali United Indonesia1–2Australia Central Coast Mariners
 Report
Attendance: 2,585
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Stallion Laguna Philippines2–3Malaysia Terengganu
 Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Ahmad Yacoub Ibrahim (Jordan)
Central Coast Mariners Australia1–1Malaysia Terengganu
 Report
Attendance: 1,386
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
Bali United Indonesia5–2Philippines Stallion Laguna
 Report