DOHA: The remaining 16 teams in the AFC Champions League Two™ (ACL Two) 2025/26 will discover their Knockout Stage opponents on December 30 (Tuesday) at 3pm at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur.
Eight teams each from the West and East successfully progressed from the Group Stage, which concluded on Wednesday, to seal their Round of 16 berths in the 21st edition of the Continent’s second-tier men’s tournament and keep their hopes of glory alive.
The Knockout Stage cast features one Continental debutant in Cong An Ha Noi FC and nine more teams that have reached this stage of the ACL Two for the first time: Al Nassr Club, Al Wasl FC, Al Ahli SC, Esteghlal FC, FC Arkadag, Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC, Gamba Osaka, FC Pohang Steelers and Ratchaburi FC.
The draw will see the teams of each region placed into two pots—Pot 1 for the group winners and Pot 2 for the runners-up—as below:
West
Pot 1: Al Wasl FC (UAE), Al Ahli SC (QAT), Al Hussein (JOR), Al Nassr Club (KSA)
Pot 2: Esteghlal FC (IRN), FC Arkadag (TKM), Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC (IRN), Al Zawraa SC (IRQ)
East
Pot 1: Macarthur FC (AUS), Gamba Osaka (JPN), Persib Bandung (IDN), Tampines Rovers FC (SGP)
Pot 2: Cong An Ha Noi FC (VIE), Ratchaburi FC (THA), Bangkok United (THA), FC Pohang Steelers (KOR)
Teams from the same group will not be drawn against each other and this group protection principle will be ensured by the draw software, which will also prevent deadlock situations from occurring.
The Round of 16 is scheduled to be played in February 2026 (West: 10-11, 17-18; East: 11-12, 18-19), followed by the Quarter-finals in March (West: 3-4, 10-11; East: 4-5, 11-12) and Semi-finals in April (West: 7 and 14; East: 8 and 15), before the tournament culminates in a single-leg West-meets-East Final on May 16, 2026. (AFC)
