Kuala Lumpur: The Group Stage action in the Asian Football Confederation’s ASEAN Zone is set to get underway on Monday with 11 teams vying to reach the competition’s knockout phase.
There is now a new format for AFC Cup which will be played across the Asian Football Confederation’s five zones. The West Zone, which has dominated the competition in recent years, will remain mainly unchanged, although there will be a West Zone final which will provide the region’s representative for the AFC Cup final. There will also be an Inter-Zone Play-off between the winners of the ASEAN, Central, South and East Zones. The winners of the Inter-Zone Play-off will then play the West Zone winners in the final.
Group F
Global FC from the Philippines will look to overcome the disappointment of not reaching the AFC Champions League Group Stage when they face Myanmar’s Magwe FC in the opening Group F encounter on Tuesday.
Global’s AFC Champions League hopes were dashed courtesy of a Preliminary Stage 2 defeat at Brisbane Roar after overcoming Tampines Rovers in Preliminary Stage 1. The defeat sees last season’s United Football League title winners and United Football League Cup champions return to the AFC Cup for a second time. Their opponents, who triumphed in the 2016 General Aung San Shield final, are making their AFC Cup debut.
Malaysian giants Johor Darul Ta’zim – AFC Cup winners in 2015 and losing semi-finalists last year - are another team left rueing what could have been after their AFC Champions League 2017 campaign ended in a 3-0 Play-off loss away to Gamba Osaka. They had beaten Bangkok United on penalties in Preliminary Stage 2. Reigning Cambodian champions Boeungket Angkor, meanwhile, beat Lao Toyota 2-1 on aggregate in the AFC Cup Play-offs to ensure their place in the Group Stage.
Global FC (PHI) v Magwe FC (MYA)
Venue: Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, Manila
Kick-off: February 21, 19.30 UTC+8
Johor Darul Ta’zim (MAS) v Boeungket Angkor (CAM)
Venue: Stadium Tan Sri Dato' Haji Yunos, Johor Baru
Kick-off: February 21, 20.45 UTC+8
Group G
Also on Tuesday, Hanoi FC (formerly Hanoi T&T), last season’s V.League 1 champions, will look to start their AFC Cup Group Stage campaign on a winning note when they face Ceres Negros from the Philippines in Hanoi.
The Vietnamese side, who succumbed to Hong Kong’s Kitchee in the Preliminary Stage 2 phase of qualifying for this season’s AFC Champions League, reached the AFC Cup quarter-finals in 2014 and featured in the 2011 Group Stage. 2016 United Football League runners-up Ceres Negros reached the Round of 16 last year but were duly eliminated after a 1-0 extra-time loss to South China.
Elsewhere in Group G, cross-Causeway rivalries will be resumed when Singapore’s Tampines Rovers play Malaysia’s Felda United. Having finished third in the S.League last season, Tampines were beaten by Global FC in their AFC Champions League Preliminary 1 tie, resulting in yet another AFC Cup outing for the side who have reached the quarter-finals on no less than four occasions. Felda finished as runners-up to Johor Darul Ta’zim in the 2016 Malaysian Super League and this will be their first AFC Cup appearance.
Hanoi FC (VIE) v Ceres Negros (PHI)
Venue: My Dinh Stadium, Hanoi
Kick-off: February 21, 18.00 UTC+7
Tampines Rovers (SIN) v Felda United (MAS)
Venue: Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore
Kick-off: February 21, 19.30 UTC+8
Group H
In Group H, Yadanarbon begin proceedings when they host Singapore’s Home United in Mandalay on Wednesday.
Yadanarbon claimed a spot in the AFC Champions League Play-offs after winning the Myanmar National League for the fourth time in 2016, but went on to lose 5-0 at the hands of Sukhothai United. Their Singaporean counterparts, who finished fourth in last season’s S.League, beat Phnom Penh Crown 7-3 on aggregate in the AFC Cup Play-offs to seal their passage through to the Group Stage.
The group’s only other team, Than Quang Ninh from Vietnam, will play their first AFC Cup 2017 Group Stage game on March 8 at home to Yadanarbon. The Vietnamese outfit lifted the Vietnam National Cup in 2016 to qualify for the competition.
Yadanarbon (MYA) v Home United (SIN)
Venue: Mandalar Thiri Stadium, Mandalay
Kick-off: February 21, 17.00 UTC+6.5
Source: the-afc.com