The clashes see ASEAN kings Hanoi FC of Vietnam take on Central Zonal champions Altyn Asyr of Turkmenistan and South Zonal champions Abahani Limited Dhaka go up against their East Zone counterparts 4.25 SC of DPR Korea over two legs.

The reward for the winners is a place in the Inter-Zone Final, meaning the stakes are high ahead of the first legs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The games see Vietnam’s Hanoi FC up against Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr and Abahani Limited Dhaka of Bangladesh face DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC as the Zonal champions from the ASEAN, Central, South and East square off. 

With this Inter-Zone format only in its third year since the AFC Cup was remodelled, the-AFC.com looks back at the four previous match-ups from this stage of the Continental competition.

The capital city side went into the all-Vietnamese clash at Hang Day Stadium with a 1-0 advantage following last week’s first leg and, after a tight first half which Hanoi shaded, the hosts broke the deadlock just after the hour when top scorer Pape Omar Faye notched his eighth goal of the campaign.

With Binh Duong needing to score twice, Hanoi could breath a little easier and they could have added to their tally, with Nguyen Quang Hai, Ngan Van Dai and Pape Kebe all missing chances as the home side comfortably saw out the closing stages.

Leading 1-0 from last week’s first leg, Pape Omar Faye’s second-half strike – his eighth goal of the competition – ultimately sealed a 2-0 aggregate success for Hanoi, one which earns them a spot in the Inter-Zone Semi-finals where they will now face Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr FC.

The trophy, a play-off bringing together the country’s defending league and cup champions from the previous season, has now been won five successive times by Altyn Asyr, who are chasing a sixth successive Yokary Liga title this season.

Sitting alongside Masih Saighani, who scored a stoppage-time goal to help the side seal a 1-0 result, the Portuguese labeled the win as massive for Bangladesh football.

Questioned about emotions in the dugout after Saighani’s goal, Lemos said “It was big because Chennaiyin were winning and if we had drawn this game, we would be out. So, it’s massive for the club as well as the country to qualify for the first time.”

The 4.25 SC captain finished two goals ahead of Bienvenido Maranon of the Philippines’ Ceres Negros and Sekou Sylla of Myanmar's Yangon United.

With 4.25 SC eliminated from the tournament at the Inter-Zone final stage by Turkmenistan's Altyn Asyr, An's involvement in the AFC Cup was brought to an end at the penultimate stage.

But he remained on top of the scoring charts ahead of Saturday’s final between holders Air Force Club of Iraq and Altyn Asyr with Altymyrat Annadurdyyev of the latter the closest – on eight goals prior to kick off – still four goals behind the DPR Korean.

Annadurdyyev, though, was unable to add to his tally as Air Force Club ran out 2-0 winners and An’s 12 goals proved enough to confirm him as the top scorer.