The 2022 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 9 August to 22 October 2022.[1] A total of 12 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2022 AFC Cup.[2]
The following teams advanced from the group stage:
| Key to colours | |
|---|---|
| Teams which entered the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals | |
| Teams which entered the Zonal finals | |
| Teams which entered the Zonal semi-finals |
| width=120 | Zone | Group | width=200 | Winners | width=200 | Best runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Asia Zone | A | Al-Seeb | — | |||
| B | Al-Arabi | Al-Riffa | ||||
| C | East Riffa | — | ||||
| South Asia Zone | D | ATK Mohun Bagan | — | |||
| Central Asia Zone | E | Sogdiana Jizzakh | — | |||
| F | Khujand | — | ||||
| ASEAN Zone | G | Kedah Darul Aman | — | |||
| H | PSM Makassar | Kuala Lumpur City | ||||
| I | Viettel | — | ||||
| East Asia Zone | J | Eastern | — |
In the knockout stage, the 12 teams played a single-elimination tournament. The extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3 and 10.1).
The schedule of each round was as follows.[1]
| Round | West Asia | South Asia | Central Asia | ASEAN | East Asia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zonal semi-finals | 5–6 September 2022 | Not played | 9–10 August 2022 | Not played | ||
| Zonal finals | 4 October 2022 | Not played | 17 August 2022 | 24 August 2022 | Not played | |
| Inter-zone play-off semi-finals | Not played | 6–7 September 2022 | ||||
| Inter-zone play-off final | 5 October 2022 | |||||
| Final | 22 October 2022 | |||||
The draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 14 July 2022.
The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:
The Zonal semi-finals were played over one leg, with the home team determined by the following tables based on which group runners-up qualified. The group winner hosts the match against a group runner-up. If two group winners played each other, one of the group winners hosted the match.
|+West Asia Zone|+ASEAN Zone
----
The Zonal finals were played over one leg, with the home team decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the Central Asia Zonal final and ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.
|+West Asia Zone|+Central Asia Zone|+ASEAN Zone
In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone played in two ties, i.e., the winners of the South Asia Zone (Group D), the winners of the East Asia Zone (Group J), the winners of the Central Zonal final, and the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final, with the matchups and home team decided by draw, without any seeding.
In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals played each other, with the home team determined by the Inter-zone play-off semi-final draw. The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.
See main article: article and 2022 AFC Cup Final. The final was played over one leg at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between the winners of the Inter-zone play-off final, Kuala Lumpur City, and the winners of the West Asia Zonal final, Al-Seeb.