# 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage

The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage began on 3 March with the round of 16 and will end on 3 May 2025, with the final to decide the champions of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite. A total of 16 teams compete in the knockout stage.
The tournament winner will qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Additionally, the winner will enter the league stage of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite, if they have not already qualified through their domestic performance.

## Qualified teams

The top eight teams in the league stage from each region advanced to the round of 16, with eight teams each from West Region and East Region.

## Format

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams will play a single-elimination tournament. The round of 16 saw each team play against a team from the same region on a home-and-away two-legged basis. All ties after will be played as a single match, with cross-regional pairings in the quarter-finals. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10). The match-ups for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will be determined at a single draw event.

## Schedule

The schedule of the knockout component is as follows.
| Stage | Round | Draw date | West Region | East Region |
| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | No draw | 3–4 and 10–11 March 2025 | 4–5 and 11–12 March 2025 |
| Finals | Quarter-finals | 17 March 2025 | 25–27 April 2025 | 25–27 April 2025 |
| Finals | Semi-finals | 17 March 2025 | 29–30 April 2025 | 29–30 April 2025 |
| Finals | Final | 17 March 2025 | 3 May 2025 at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah | 3 May 2025 at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah |

## Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| W8 | Pakhtakor | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| W8 | Pakhtakor | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 April – Jeddah | 25 April – Jeddah | | | | | |
| W1 | Al-Hilal | 0 | 4 | 4 | 25 April – Jeddah | 25 April – Jeddah | | | | | |
| W1 | Al-Hilal | 0 | 4 | 4 | W1 | Al-Hilal | | | | | |
| | | | | | E4 | Gwangju | | | | | |
| E5 | Vissel Kobe | 2 | 0 | 2 | E4 | Gwangju | | | | | |
| E5 | Vissel Kobe | 2 | 0 | 2 | | 29 April – Jeddah | | | | | |
| E4 | Gwangju (a.e.t.) | 0 | 3 | 3 | | 29 April – Jeddah | | | | | |
| E4 | Gwangju (a.e.t.) | 0 | 3 | 3 | | Winner QF1 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Winner QF1 | | Winner QF2 | Winner QF2 | | |
| W7 | Al-Rayyan | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | Winner QF2 | Winner QF2 | | |
| W7 | Al-Rayyan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 April – Jeddah | | | | | | |
| W2 | Al-Ahli | 3 | 2 | 5 | 26 April – Jeddah | | | | | | |
| W2 | Al-Ahli | 3 | 2 | 5 | W2 | | Al-Ahli | | | | |
| | | | | | E6 | | Buriram United | | | | |
| E6 | Buriram United | 0 | 1 | 1 | E6 | | Buriram United | | | | |
| E6 | Buriram United | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | 3 May – Jeddah | | |
| E3 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 3 May – Jeddah | | |
| E3 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | Winner SF1 | | |
| | | | | | | | Winner SF1 | | | Winner SF2 | Winner SF2 |
| E8 | Shanghai Port | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | Winner SF2 | Winner SF2 |
| E8 | Shanghai Port | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 April – Jeddah | | | | |
| E1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 1 | 4 | 5 | 26 April – Jeddah | | | | |
| E1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 1 | 4 | 5 | E1 | | Yokohama F. Marinos | | | |
| | | | | | W3 | | Al-Nassr | | | |
| W6 | Esteghlal | 0 | 0 | 0 | W3 | | Al-Nassr | | | |
| W6 | Esteghlal | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 30 April – Jeddah | | | |
| W3 | Al-Nassr | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | 30 April – Jeddah | | | |
| W3 | Al-Nassr | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | Winner QF3 | | | |
| | | | | | | | Winner QF3 | Winner QF4 | Winner QF4 | | |
| E7 | Shanghai Shenhua | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | Winner QF4 | Winner QF4 | | |
| E7 | Shanghai Shenhua | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 April – Jeddah | 27 April – Jeddah | 27 April – Jeddah | | | | |
| E2 | Kawasaki Frontale | 0 | 4 | 4 | 27 April – Jeddah | 27 April – Jeddah | 27 April – Jeddah | | | | |
| E2 | Kawasaki Frontale | 0 | 4 | 4 | E2 | Kawasaki Frontale | | | | | |
| | | | | | W4 | Al-Sadd | | | | | |
| W5 | Al-Wasl | 1 | 1 | 2 | W4 | Al-Sadd | | | | | |
| W4 | Al-Sadd | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | |

## Round of 16
### Summary

The first legs were played on 3–5 March, the second legs were played on 10–12 March 2025.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| West Region |||||
| Pakhtakor | 1–4 | Al-Hilal | 1–0 | 0–4 |
| Al-Rayyan | 1–5 | Al-Ahli | 1–3 | 0–2 |
| Esteghlal | 0–3 | Al-Nassr | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Al-Wasl | 2–4 | Al-Sadd | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| East Region |||||
| Shanghai Port | 1–5 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 1–4 | Kawasaki Frontale | 1–0 | 0–4 |
| Buriram United | 1–0 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Vissel Kobe | 2–3 | Gwangju | 2–0 | 0–3 (a.e.t.) |

#### West Region

Al-Hilal won 4–1 on aggregate.
Al-Ahli won 5–1 on aggregate.
Al-Nassr won 3–0 on aggregate.
Al-Sadd won 4–2 on aggregate.

#### East Region

Yokohama F. Marinos won 5–1 on aggregate.
Kawasaki Frontale won 4–1 on aggregate.
Buriram United won 1–0 on aggregate.
Gwangju won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Finals

The four winners from West Region and the four winners from East Region in the round of 16 advanced to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be held in Saudi Arabia from 25 April to 3 May 2025.
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 17 March 2025. Each quarter-final features a team from West Region against a team from East Region. Based on the league stage results, Al-Hilal and Yokohama F. Marinos (as the best team in each Region) were allocated positions on opposite sides of the tournament bracket, with the draw determining the positions of the other six teams. The match pairings of the semi-finals and final were pre-determined.
All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

### Venues

The matches will be played in two stadiums in the city of Jeddah.
| Jeddahclass=notpageimage| Location of the host city of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite finals. | Jeddah | Jeddah |
| Jeddahclass=notpageimage| Location of the host city of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite finals. | King Abdullah Sports City Stadium | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium |
| Jeddahclass=notpageimage| Location of the host city of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite finals. | Capacity: 63,079 | Capacity: 27,000 |

### Quarter-finals
#### Summary

The quarter-finals will be played between 25 and 27 April 2025.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Al-Hilal | 1 | Gwangju |
| Al-Ahli | 2 | Buriram United |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 3 | Al-Nassr |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 4 | Al-Sadd |

#### Matches
### Semi-finals
#### Summary

The semi-finals will be played on 29 and 30 April 2025.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Winner QF1 | 1 | Winner QF2 |
| Winner QF3 | 2 | Winner QF4 |

#### Matches
### Final
#### Summary

The final will be played on 3 May 2025 at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Winner SF1 | 1 | Winner SF2 |