The remaining 16 teams will discover their Knockout Stage opponents on December 30 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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 Asia’s second-tier men’s tournament and keep their hopes of glory alive.
The Knockout Stage cast features one continental debutant, namely Vietnam’s Cong An Ha Noi FC, and nine more teams that have reached this stage of the ACL Two for the first time, including Al Nassr Club, Al Wasl FC, Al Ahli SC, Esteghlal, Arkadag, Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan , 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)