AFC Champions League 2020

AFC Champions League 2020
Beginning	January 14, 2020
final	5th December 2020
Teams	32 (52 with qualifying rounds)
Games	126  (of which 27 played)
Gates	69  (ø 2.56 per game)
yellow cards	82  (ø 3.04 per game)
Yellow and red cards	3  (ø 0.11 per game)
Red cards	1  (ø 0.04 per game)
← AFC Champions League 2019 AFC Champions League 2021 →
AFC Cup 2020 ↓

The AFC Champions League 2020 is the 18th season of the most important Asian competition for club teams in football under this name and the 39th overall. This season, 52 clubs from 23 national AFC associations are taking part in the competition. The season started with the first qualifying round on January 14th and is expected to end with the final on December 5th, 2020. From the beginning of March until probably mid-September 2020, the season has been interrupted due to the corona pandemic .

The winner will qualify as a representative of the AFC for the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar . The two finalists will also qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup in China in 2021 . The defending champion is the Saudi Arabian association al-Hilal .

qualification

The fixtures in the three qualifying rounds were set according to the AFC four-year evaluation 2017, which was divided into the west and east regions, and the access list, with matches between teams from the same national association being excluded. The qualifying rounds were decided in one game each, with the club from the higher-ranking association each having home rights. In the event of a tie, extra time was played first and then a penalty shoot-out was applied if necessary .

The eight winners of the play-off round reached the group stage. The defeated teams from the associations, which only send one team to the Champions League, continued to play in the group stage of the AFC Cup . These included the clubs from Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Tajikistan and Vietnam.

First qualifying round

The games took place on January 14, 2020.

	Result		region
Chennai City FC	0: 1	al-Riffa SC	west
al-Faisaly	1: 2 a.d.	al Kuwait SC	west
Ceres-Negros FC	3: 2	Shan United	east
Tampines Rovers	3: 5 a.d.	Bali United	east

Second qualifying round

The games took place on January 21st and 25th, 2020.

	Result		region
Bunyodkor Tashkent	4: 1	al-Zawraa SC	west
Tashkent locomotive	0: 1	FC Istiklol	west
Shahr Khodro	2: 1 1	al-Riffa SC	west
Esteghlal Tehran	3: 0 1	al Kuwait SC	west
Kedah FA	5: 1	Tai Po FC	east
Buriram United	2: 1	Hồ Chí Minh City FC	east
Port FC	0: 1	Ceres-Negros FC	east
Melbourne Victory	5-0	Bali United	east

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¹Due to the tense security situation in Iran, the game was played on January 25, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates .

Play-off round

The games took place on January 28, 2020.

	Result		region
al Ain Club	1-0	Bunyodkor Tashkent	west
al-Ahli	1-0	FC Istiklol	west
al-Sailiya	0: 0 n.v. (4: 5 in good condition )	Shahr Khodro	west
al-Rayyan SC	0: 5	Esteghlal Tehran	west
FC Seoul	4: 1	Kedah FA	east
Shanghai SIPG	3-0	Buriram United	east
FC Tokyo	2-0	Ceres-Negros FC	east
Kashima Antlers	0: 1	Melbourne Victory	east

Group stage

32 clubs take part in the group stage. 24 teams are directly qualified, plus 8 (four each from the western and eastern regions) who qualify via the play-off round. The group draw took place on December 10, 2019 in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur . The teams were drawn into eight groups with four participants each. The teams from the western region form groups A to D, those from the eastern region form groups E to H. Teams from the same national association could not be drawn into the same group.

The corona pandemic caused the tournament to be completely interrupted from the beginning of March 2020. Until then, only 27 group matches had been played. In July 2020, the changed schedule was published, in which the remaining games are all planned in one central location. In groups A to D, the games take place in Qatar. Malaysia will host groups G and H.

The group winners and runners-up qualify for the round of 16, the third and fourth-placed finishers are eliminated from the competition. If two or more teams are tied, the placement is determined by the following criteria:

1. Number of points in direct comparison
2. Goal difference in direct comparison
3. Number of goals in direct comparison
4. Number of away goals in direct comparison
5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4, there are still several teams in the same place in the table, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied, but only to the matches between the teams in question. Should this also not lead to a definitive placement, criteria 6 to 10 will be applied.
6. Goal difference from all group matches
7. Number of goals in all group matches
8. If it is only about two teams and these two are on the field, there will be a penalty shoot-out between them .
9. Lower number of points through yellow and red cards (yellow card 1 point, yellow-red and red card 3 points, yellow card followed by a direct red card 4 points)
10. Higher rank of the football association in the AFC four-year ranking

Group A

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	al-Ahli	2	1	1	0	003: 200	+1	04th
2.	al-Wahda	2	1	1	0	002: 100	+1	04th
3.	Esteghlal Tehran	2	0	1	1	002: 300	−1	01
4th	al-Shorta SC	2	0	1	1	001: 200	−1	01
Status: February 17, 2020

February 10, 2020
al-Shorta SC	1: 1	Esteghlal Tehran	Franso Hariri Stadium (in Erbil )
al-Wahda	1: 1	al-Ahli	al-Nahyan stadium
17th February 2020
al-Shorta SC	0: 1	al-Wahda	Franso Hariri Stadium (in Erbil)
al-Ahli	2: 1	Esteghlal Tehran	Jaber al-Ahmad International Stadium (in Kuwait City ) 1
September 14, 2020
al-Ahli	:	al-Shorta SC	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan ) 2
al-Wahda	:	Esteghlal Tehran	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 2
17th September 2020
al-Shorta SC	:	al-Ahli	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 2
Esteghlal Tehran	:	al-Wahda	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 2
20th September 2020
al-Ahli	:	al-Wahda	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 2
Esteghlal Tehran	:	al-Shorta SC	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 2
23 September 2020
al-Wahda	:	al-Shorta SC	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 2
Esteghlal Tehran	:	al-Ahli	Khalifa International Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 2

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¹Due to the tense relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia , the game was played on neutral ground.

²Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in Qatar.

Group B

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Paxtakor Tashkent	2	2	0	0	005: 100	+4	06th
2.	al-Hilal	2	2	0	0	004: 100	+3	06th
3.	Shabab al-Ahli Dubai	2	0	0	2	002: 400	−2	00
4th	Shahr Khodro	2	0	0	2	000: 500	−5	00
Status: February 17, 2020

February 10, 2020
Paxtakor Tashkent	2: 1	Shabab al-Ahli Dubai	Paxtakor Central Stadium
al-Hilal	2-0	Shahr Khodro	Zabeel Stadium (in Dubai ) 1
17th February 2020
Paxtakor Tashkent	3-0	Shahr Khodro	Paxtakor Central Stadium
Shabab al-Ahli Dubai	1: 2	al-Hilal	al-Rashid Stadium
September 14, 2020
Shahr Khodro	:	Shabab al-Ahli Dubai	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra ) 2
al-Hilal	:	Paxtakor Tashkent	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra) 2
17th September 2020
Shabab al-Ahli Dubai	:	Shahr Khodro	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra) 2
Paxtakor Tashkent	:	al-Hilal	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra) 2
20th September 2020
Shahr Khodro	:	al-Hilal	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra) 2
Shabab al-Ahli Dubai	:	Paxtakor Tashkent	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra) 2
23 September 2020
al-Hilal	:	Shabab al-Ahli Dubai	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra) 2
Shahr Khodro	:	Paxtakor Tashkent	al-Janoub Stadium (in al-Wakra) 2

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¹Due to the tense relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia , the game was played on neutral ground.

²Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in Qatar.

Group C

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	al-Taawoun	2	2	0	0	003-000	+3	06th
2.	al-Duhail SC	2	1	0	1	002: 200	± 0	03
3.	Persepolis Tehran	2	0	1	1	002: 400	−2	01
4th	Sharjah FC	2	0	1	1	002: 300	−1	01
As of February 18, 2020

February 11, 2020
Sharjah FC	0: 1	al-Taawoun	Sharjah Stadium
al-Duhail SC	2-0	Persepolis Tehran	Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium
February 18, 2020
Sharjah FC	2: 2	Persepolis Tehran	Sharjah Stadium
al-Taawoun	2-0	al-Duhail SC	King Abdullah Sport City Stadium
September 15, 2020
Persepolis Tehran	:	al-Taawoun	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan ) 1
al-Duhail SC	:	Sharjah FC	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
September 18, 2020
al-Taawoun	:	Persepolis Tehran	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
Sharjah FC	:	al-Duhail SC	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
September 21, 2020
Persepolis Tehran	:	al-Duhail SC	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
al-Taawoun	:	Sharjah FC	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
September 24, 2020
al-Duhail SC	:	al-Taawoun	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
Persepolis Tehran	:	Sharjah FC	Education City Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1

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¹Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in Qatar.

Group D

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	al-Sadd SC	2	1	1	0	005: 200	+3	04th
2.	al-Nasr	2	1	1	0	004: 300	+1	04th
3.	Sepahan FC	2	1	0	1	004: 300	+1	03
4th	al Ain Club	2	0	0	2	001: 600	−5	00
As of February 18, 2020

February 11, 2020
al Ain Club	0: 4	Sepahan FC	Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium
al-Nasr	2: 2	al-Sadd SC	Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
February 18, 2020
al Ain Club	1: 2	al-Nasr	Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium
al-Sadd SC	3-0	Sepahan FC	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan )
September 15, 2020
al Ain Club	:	al-Sadd SC	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
Sepahan FC	:	al-Nasr	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
September 18, 2020
al-Sadd SC	:	al Ain Club	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
al-Nasr	:	Sepahan FC	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
September 21, 2020
Sepahan FC	:	al Ain Club	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
al-Sadd SC	:	al-Nasr	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
September 24, 2020
Sepahan FC	:	al-Sadd SC	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1
al-Nasr	:	al Ain Club	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (in ar-Rayyan) 1

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¹Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in Qatar.

Group E

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	FC Seoul	1	1	0	0	001-000	+1	03
2.	Beijing Guoan	1	1	0	0	001-000	+1	03
3.	Melbourne Victory	2	1	0	1	001: 100	± 0	03
4th	Chiangrai United	2	0	0	2	000: 200	−2	00
As of February 18, 2020

February 11, 2020
Melbourne Victory	1-0	Chiangrai United	Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
February 18, 2020
FC Seoul	1-0	Melbourne Victory	Seoul World Cup Stadium
Chiangrai United	0: 1	Beijing Guoan	Chiangrai Stadium
19th October 2020
FC Seoul	:	Beijing Guoan	1
October 22, 2020
FC Seoul	:	Chiangrai United	1
Beijing Guoan	:	Melbourne Victory	1
October 25, 2020
Melbourne Victory	:	Beijing Guoan	1
Chiangrai United	:	FC Seoul	1
October 28, 2020
Beijing Guoan	:	FC Seoul	1
Chiangrai United	:	Melbourne Victory	1
October 31, 2020
Beijing Guoan	:	Chiangrai United	1
Melbourne Victory	:	FC Seoul	1

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¹Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in a central location.

Group F.

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	FC Tokyo	2	1	1	0	002: 100	+1	04th
2.	Ulsan Hyundai	1	0	1	0	001: 100	± 0	01
3.	Shanghai Shenhua	0	0	0	0	000-000	± 0	00
4th	Perth Glory	1	0	0	1	000: 100	−1	00
Status: February 11, 2020

February 11, 2020
Ulsan Hyundai	1: 1	FC Tokyo	Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
February 18, 2020
FC Tokyo	1-0	Perth Glory	Tokyo stadium
October 16, 2020
Perth Glory	:	Shanghai Shenhua	1
19th October 2020
Ulsan Hyundai	:	Shanghai Shenhua	1
October 22, 2020
FC Tokyo	:	Shanghai Shenhua	1
Perth Glory	:	Ulsan Hyundai	1
October 25, 2020
Ulsan Hyundai	:	Perth Glory	1
Shanghai Shenhua	:	FC Tokyo	1
October 28, 2020
FC Tokyo	:	Ulsan Hyundai	1
Shanghai Shenhua	:	Perth Glory	1
October 31, 2020
Shanghai Shenhua	:	Ulsan Hyundai	1
Perth Glory	:	FC Tokyo	1

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¹Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in a central location.

Group G

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Vissel Kobe	2	2	0	0	006: 100	+5	06th
2.	Johor Darul Ta'zim FC	2	1	0	1	003: 600	−3	03
3.	Guangzhou Evergrande	0	0	0	0	000-000	± 0	00
4th	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2	0	0	2	001: 300	−2	00
As of March 3, 2020

February 12, 2020
Vissel Kobe	5: 1	Johor Darul Ta'zim FC	Misaki Park Stadium
19th February 2020
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0: 1	Vissel Kobe	Suwon World Cup Stadium
March 3, 2020
Johor Darul Ta'zim FC	2: 1	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Sultan Ibrahim Stadium
17th October 2020
Johor Darul Ta'zim FC	:	Guangzhou Evergrande	1
20th October 2020
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	:	Guangzhou Evergrande	1
23 October 2020
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	:	Johor Darul Ta'zim FC	1
Guangzhou Evergrande	:	Vissel Kobe	1
October 26, 2020
Vissel Kobe	:	Guangzhou Evergrande	1
October 29, 2020
Johor Darul Ta'zim FC	:	Vissel Kobe	1
Guangzhou Evergrande	:	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1
November 1, 2020
Vissel Kobe	:	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1
Guangzhou Evergrande	:	Johor Darul Ta'zim FC	1

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¹Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in Malaysia.

Group H.

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Yokohama F. Marinos	2	2	0	0	006: 100	+5	06th
2.	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2	0	1	1	003: 400	−1	01
3.	Sydney FC	2	0	1	1	002: 600	−4	01
4th	Shanghai SIPG	0	0	0	0	000-000	± 0	00
As of March 4, 2020

February 12, 2020
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1: 2	Yokohama F. Marinos	Jeonju World Cup Stadium
19th February 2020
Yokohama F. Marinos	4-0	Sydney FC	Yokohama International Stadium
4th March 2020
Sydney FC	2: 2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Jubilee oval
17th October 2020
Sydney FC	:	Shanghai SIPG	1
20th October 2020
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	:	Shanghai SIPG	1
23 October 2020
Shanghai SIPG	:	Yokohama F. Marinos	1
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	:	Sydney FC	1
October 26, 2020
Yokohama F. Marinos	:	Shanghai SIPG	1
October 29, 2020
Shanghai SIPG	:	Sydney FC	1
Yokohama F. Marinos	:	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1
November 1, 2020
Sydney FC	:	Yokohama F. Marinos	1
Shanghai SIPG	:	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1

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¹Due to the corona pandemic , the game will be played in Malaysia.

Final round

The division into the western and eastern regions that has existed since the qualifying rounds will continue in the final round up to the final. Due to the month-long interruption as a result of the corona pandemic, all games in the final round will be played in one game at a central location. Qatar is planned as the venue for the western region and Malaysia for the eastern region.

Round of 16

The pairings for the round of 16 were blindly determined when the group stage was drawn in December 2019. It can happen that teams from the same national association have to play against each other. A group runner-up meets a group winner from another group. The games will take place on September 26th and 27th as well as on November 3rd and 4th, 2020.

	Result		region
Second group A	AF 1	Winner group B	west
Second group B	AF 2	Winner group A	west
Second group C	AF 3	Winner group D	west
Second group D	AF 4	Winner group C	west
Second group E	AF 5	Winner group F	east
Second group F	AF 6	Winner group E	east
Second group G	AF 7	Winner group H	east
Second group H	AF 8	Winner group G	east

Quarter finals

The pairings for the quarter-finals were determined together with the changed schedule. The games will take place on September 30th and November 25th, 2020.

	Result		region
Winner AF 1	VF 1	Winner AF 2	west
Winner AF 3	VF 2	Winner AF 4	west
Winner AF 5	VF 3	Winner AF 6	east
Winner AF 7	VF 4	Winner AF 8	east

Semifinals

In the semifinals, the two teams from the western region and the two from the eastern region play against each other. The games will take place on October 3 and November 28, 2020.

	Result		region
Winner VF 1	HF 1	Winner VF 2	west
Winner VF 3	HF 2	Winner VF 4	east

Web links

• Official website of the AFC Champions League

Individual evidence

1. ↑ AFC Executive Committee enhances future AFC Asian Cups . In: The-AFC.com . December 1, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019.
2. ↑ ACL2020 draw sets stage for spectacular affair . In: The-AFC.com . December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
3. ↑ ^{a b} AFC reiterates commitment to complete 2020 competitions with new calendar . In: The-AFC.com . July 9, 2020. Accessed August 6, 2020.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Qatar to host 2020 AFC Champions League in the West region . In: The-AFC.com . July 16, 2020. Accessed August 6, 2020.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Malaysia to host AFC Champions League Groups G and H . In: The-AFC.com . July 27, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.