How 24 teams become 16
Six groups of four produce six winners and six runners-up, which fills 12 of the 16 knockout places. The last four go to the best third-placed teams, ranked across all six groups on points, then goal difference, then goals scored.
Nobody knows which four until the last group match is played. That is why the bracket below fixes its ties by group letter rather than by team. Four of the round-of-16 ties pair a group winner against a third-placed side, and which third-placed side depends on which groups they came from.
The route to Riyadh
Fifteen matches separate the round of 16 from the trophy, and they move around all three host cities: eight in Riyadh, four in Jeddah and three in Khobar. The four quarter-finals are split across four different grounds on 28 and 29 January, so no team knows where it will play that round until the last-16 ties are done.
The semi-finals leave the capital altogether. One is at Aramco Stadium in Khobar on 1 February, the other at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah a day later. Only then does the tournament return to Riyadh, where King Fahd Sports City stages the final on 5 February in the same ground that opened it a month earlier.
A tie level after ninety minutes goes to extra time, and to penalties if it is still level. There is no replay and no third-place play-off. Fifteen of the sixteen teams that reach this stage end their tournament with a defeat.