2019 AFC Cup Final
# 2019 AFC Cup Final

The 2019 AFC Cup Final was the final match of the 2019 AFC Cup, the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The final was contested as a single match between April 25 from North Korea and Al-Ahed from Lebanon. The match was played at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on 4 November 2019.

Al-Ahed won 1–0 by a goal from Ghanaian player Issah Yakubu. This was Al-Ahed's first continental title, as well as the first for a Lebanese team. April 25 became the first North Korean men's football club to qualify for an Asian final, while Al-Ahed were the third Lebanese side to do so (after Nejmeh in 2005 and Safa in 2008).

## Teams

| Team | Zone | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
| - | - | - |
| April 25 | East Asia Zone (EAFF) (Inter-zone play-off winner) | None |
| Al-Ahed | West Asia Zone (WAFF) | None |

## Venue

The match was originally to be hosted by April 25 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on 2 November 2019. However, on 22 October 2019, due to North Korea's decision to ban television transmission of football games, the AFC announced that the final would be held in Shanghai, China in order for the match to be transmitted. On 25 October 2019, the match was rescheduled from 2 November to 4 November and the host city was shifted from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

## Road to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

| April 25 | April 25 | April 25 | April 25 | Round | Al-Ahed | Al-Ahed | Al-Ahed | Al-Ahed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Opponent | Result | Result | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | Result | Result |
| Hang Yuen | 3–0 (A) | 3–0 (A) | 3–0 (A) | Matchday 1 | Al-Qadsia | 0–0 (H) | 0–0 (H) | 0–0 (H) |
| Kitchee | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) | Matchday 2 | Malkiya | 0–0 (A) | 0–0 (A) | 0–0 (A) |
| Tai Po | 3–1 (A) | 3–1 (A) | 3–1 (A) | Matchday 3 | Al-Suwaiq | 4–2 (H) | 4–2 (H) | 4–2 (H) |
| Tai Po | 4–0 (H) | 4–0 (H) | 4–0 (H) | Matchday 4 | Al-Suwaiq | 1–0 (A) | 1–0 (A) | 1–0 (A) |
| Hang Yuen | 5–0 (H) | 5–0 (H) | 5–0 (H) | Matchday 5 | Al-Qadsia | 1–0 (A) | 1–0 (A) | 1–0 (A) |
| Kitchee | 0–1 (A) | 0–1 (A) | 0–1 (A) | Matchday 6 | Malkiya | 2–1 (H) | 2–1 (H) | 2–1 (H) |
| Group I winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 April 25 6 15 2 Kitchee 6 10 3 Tai Po 6 8 4 Hang Yuen 6 1 Source: AFC | Group I winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 April 25 6 15 2 Kitchee 6 10 3 Tai Po 6 8 4 Hang Yuen 6 1 Source: AFC | Group I winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 April 25 6 15 2 Kitchee 6 10 3 Tai Po 6 8 4 Hang Yuen 6 1 Source: AFC | Group I winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 April 25 6 15 2 Kitchee 6 10 3 Tai Po 6 8 4 Hang Yuen 6 1 Source: AFC | Final standings | Group C winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Ahed 6 14 2 Malkiya 6 8 3 Al-Qadsia 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 4 Source: AFC | Group C winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Ahed 6 14 2 Malkiya 6 8 3 Al-Qadsia 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 4 Source: AFC | Group C winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Ahed 6 14 2 Malkiya 6 8 3 Al-Qadsia 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 4 Source: AFC | Group C winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Ahed 6 14 2 Malkiya 6 8 3 Al-Qadsia 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 4 Source: AFC |
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout stage | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| — | — | — | — | Zonal semi-finals | Al-Wehdat | 1–0 | 1–0 (A) | 0–0 (H) |
| — | — | — | — | Zonal finals | Al-Jazeera | 1–0 | 0–0 (A) | 1–0 (H) |
| Abahani Limited Dhaka | 5–4 | 3–4 (A) | 2–0 (H) | Inter-zone play-off semi-finals | — | — | — | — |
| Hà Nội | 2–2 (a) | 2–2 (A) | 0–0 (H) | Inter-zone play-off final | — | — | — | — |

## Format

The final was played as a single match, with the host team (winners of the Inter-zone play-off final) alternated from the previous season's final.

Should it tied after regulation time, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning team.

## Match

### Details

| April 25 | Al-Ahed |
| - | - |
| GK | 23 | An Tae-song |
| RB | 6 | Kwon Chung-hyok |
| CB | 30 | An Song-il I |
| CB | 5 | Pak Jin-myong |
| LB | 29 | Pak Song-rok |
| RM | 31 | Choe Chol-su | 28' |
| CM | 15 | Won Song |
| CM | 7 | O Hyok-chol |
| LM | 14 | Son Pyong-il |
| CF | 13 | Rim Chol-min (c) | 40' |
| CF | 10 | An Il-bom |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 1 | Sin Tae-song | 28' |
| DF | 2 | Jang Kum-nam |
| DF | 17 | An Song-il II | | 88' |
| MF | 19 | Yun Il-gwang |
| MF | 24 | Choe Jong-hyok |
| FW | 18 | Kim Yu-song | 40' | 88' |
| FW | 21 | Jang Hyok |
| Manager: ||
| O Yun-son ||
| GK | 1 | Mehdi Khalil |
| RB | 6 | Hussein Zein |
| CB | 4 | Nour Mansour |
| CB | 2 | Ahmad Al Saleh |
| LB | 8 | Hussein Dakik |
| CM | 13 | Issah Yakubu |
| CM | 15 | Haytham Faour (c) | 82' |
| RM | 20 | Rabih Ataya | | 80' |
| AM | 10 | Mohamad Haidar |
| LM | 11 | Ahmad Zreik |
| CF | 99 | Ahmed Akaïchi | | 89' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 21 | Mohamad Hammoud |
| GK | 98 | Hadi Khalil |
| DF | 5 | Khalil Khamis |
| MF | 7 | Hussein Monzer | 90+3' | 89' |
| MF | 14 | Walid Shour |
| MF | 23 | Ali Hadid |
| FW | 30 | Tarek El Ali | | 80' |
| Manager: ||
| Bassem Marmar ||
| Man of the Match: Issah Yakubu (Al-Ahed) Assistant referees: Deniye Gedara Palitha Parakkrama Hemathunga (Sri Lanka) Wellabada Hewage Don Senjeewa Premalal (Sri Lanka) Fourth official: Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman) Fifth official: Abdullah Al-Jardani (Oman) | Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if tied. Penalty shoot-out if still tied after extra time. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used, with a fourth allowed in extra time. |
