2018 AFC Cup Final
# 2018 AFC Cup Final

The 2018 AFC Cup Final was the final match of the 2018 AFC Cup, the 15th 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 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq and Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan. The match was hosted by Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya at the Basra Sports City in Basra on 27 October 2018.

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won the final 2–0 for their third consecutive and overall AFC Cup title.

## Teams

| Team | Zone | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
| - | - | - |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | West Asia Zone (WAFF) | 2 (2016, 2017) |
| Altyn Asyr | Central Asia Zone (CAFA) (Inter-zone play-off winner) | None |

This was Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya's third consecutive AFC Cup final, a record shared with Al-Faisaly (2005 to 2007) and Al-Kuwait (2011 to 2013). If they were to win the final, they would become the first team to win three consecutive AFC Cup titles, and also tie Al-Kuwait as record three-time winners of the AFC Cup.

Altyn Asyr were the first team from Turkmenistan to reach the AFC Cup final. If they were to win the final, they would become the second team from Central Asia to win the AFC Cup, after Nasaf from Uzbekistan in 2011.

## Venue

This was the second AFC Cup final played in Iraq, after the 2012 final played at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil. While Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were also the home team in the 2016 AFC Cup Final, they hosted the match at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, as Iraqi teams were not allowed to host their home matches during that time. The ban was lifted in March 2018, and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya played their subsequent home matches at the Karbala Sports City in Karbala.

## Road to the final

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

| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Round | Round | Altyn Asyr | Altyn Asyr | Altyn Asyr | Altyn Asyr |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Opponent | Result | Result | Result | Group stage | Group stage | Opponent | Result | Result | Result |
| Al-Jazeera | 2–2 (H) | 2–2 (H) | 2–2 (H) | Matchday 1 | Matchday 1 | Alay Osh | 6–3 (A) | 6–3 (A) | 6–3 (A) |
| Al-Suwaiq | 1–0 (A) | 1–0 (A) | 1–0 (A) | Matchday 2 | Matchday 2 | Istiklol | 2–2 (H) | 2–2 (H) | 2–2 (H) |
| Malkiya | 4–3 (A) | 4–3 (A) | 4–3 (A) | Matchday 3 | Matchday 3 | Ahal | 0–0 (A) | 0–0 (A) | 0–0 (A) |
| Al-Jazeera | 1–1 (A) | 1–1 (A) | 1–1 (A) | Matchday 4 | Matchday 4 | Ahal | 1–0 (H) | 1–0 (H) | 1–0 (H) |
| Malkiya | 1–1 (H) | 1–1 (H) | 1–1 (H) | Matchday 5 | Matchday 5 | Alay Osh | 5–0 (H) | 5–0 (H) | 5–0 (H) |
| Al-Suwaiq | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) | Matchday 6 | Matchday 6 | Istiklol | 3–2 (A) | 3–2 (A) | 3–2 (A) |
| Group A runners-up Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Jazeera 6 14 2 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6 12 3 Malkiya 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 0 Source: AFC | Group A runners-up Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Jazeera 6 14 2 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6 12 3 Malkiya 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 0 Source: AFC | Group A runners-up Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Jazeera 6 14 2 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6 12 3 Malkiya 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 0 Source: AFC | Group A runners-up Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Al-Jazeera 6 14 2 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6 12 3 Malkiya 6 7 4 Al-Suwaiq 6 0 Source: AFC | Final standings | Final standings | Group D winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Altyn Asyr 6 14 2 Istiklol 6 13 3 Ahal 6 7 4 Alay Osh 6 0 Source: AFC | Group D winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Altyn Asyr 6 14 2 Istiklol 6 13 3 Ahal 6 7 4 Alay Osh 6 0 Source: AFC | Group D winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Altyn Asyr 6 14 2 Istiklol 6 13 3 Ahal 6 7 4 Alay Osh 6 0 Source: AFC | Group D winners Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 1 Altyn Asyr 6 14 2 Istiklol 6 13 3 Ahal 6 7 4 Alay Osh 6 0 Source: AFC |
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout stage | Knockout stage | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Al-Ahed | 5–3 | 3–1 (H) | 2–2 (A) | Zonal semi-finals | Inter-zone play-off semi-finals | Bengaluru | 5–2 | 3–2 (A) | 2–0 (H) |
| Al-Jazeera | 4–1 | 1–0 (A) | 3–1 (H) | Zonal finals | Inter-zone play-off final | April 25 | 3–3 (a) | 2–2 (A) | 1–1 (H) |

## Format

The final was played as a single match, with the host team (winners of the West Asia Zonal final) alternated from the previous season's final.

If tied after regulation, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner.

## Match

### Details

| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Altyn Asyr |
| - | - |
| GK | 12 | Mohammed Gassid |
| RB | 6 | Sameh Saeed |
| CB | 5 | Ahmed Abdul-Ridha |
| CB | 32 | Saad Natiq |
| LB | 33 | Ali Bahjat | 88' |
| RM | 37 | Ibrahim Bayesh |
| CM | 18 | Zaher Midani |
| CM | 42 | Mohammed Ali Abboud | | 77' |
| LM | 38 | Ali Husni | | 81' |
| CF | 10 | Hammadi Ahmad (c) |
| CF | 9 | Emad Mohsin | | 90+1' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 1 | Fahad Talib |
| DF | 34 | Mustafa Mohammed |
| MF | 14 | Mohsen Abdullah |
| MF | 43 | Mohammed Qasim | | 77' |
| FW | 7 | Karrar Ali | | 81' |
| FW | 17 | Ali Yousif |
| FW | 29 | Amjad Radhi | | 90+1' |
| Manager: ||
| Basim Qasim ||
| GK | 1 | Mammet Orazmuhammedow |
| RB | 12 | Serdar Annaorazow |
| CB | 4 | Mekan Saparow |
| CB | 2 | Zafar Babajanow | 46' |
| LB | 24 | Gurbangeldi Batyrow | 77' |
| CM | 14 | Umidjan Astanow |
| CM | 29 | Serdar Geldiýew (c) |
| RW | 22 | Mekan Aşyrow | 58' |
| AM | 10 | Selim Nurmuradov |
| LW | 7 | Altymyrat Annadurdyýew |
| CF | 39 | Wahyt Orazsähedow |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 16 | Nurgeldi Astanow |
| DF | 3 | Şöhrat Söýünow | 46' |
| MF | 20 | Begmyrat Baýow | 58' |
| MF | 27 | Welmyrat Ballakow |
| MF | 33 | Annasähet Annasähedow |
| FW | 18 | Furkat Tursunow | 77' |
| FW | 30 | Mihail Titow |
| Manager: ||
| Ýazguly Hojageldyýew ||
| Man of the Match: Hammadi Ahmad (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya) Assistant referees: Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Saoud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar) Fourth official: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar) Fifth official: Juma Al-Burshaid (Qatar) | 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. |
