Urawa Red Diamonds have won the Asian Champions League for the second time after defeating Al Hilal 2-1 on aggregate in the final - thus booking their place in next month's Fifa Club World Cup in the UAE.
The Japanese side, Asian champions in 2007, triumphed 1-0 in the second leg at the Saitama Stadium on Saturday, when Rafael Silva scored two minutes from time to seal the trophy. Urawa had last week held Saudi Arabia's Hilal to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Riyadh.
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In winning, Urawa become the sixth team to confirm their spot at the Club World Cup, which takes place for the third time in the UAE. The December 6-16 event also features Real Madrid and UAE champions Al Jazira, the host representatives.
There remains one place to fill in the seven-team tournament, with the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final taking place on Wednesday between Brazil’s Gremio and Argentina’s Lanus. Gremio are currently 1-0 up in the tie.
FT: @REDSOFFICIAL 1 - 0 @Alhilal_FC
— #ACL2021 (@TheAFCCL) November 25, 2017
Rafael Silva rises to the occasion once again for Urawa Red Diamonds to clinch the #ACL2017 title! 🏆 #ACLFinal #URAvHIL pic.twitter.com/H5Q7xTrAeh
Matches for the Club World Cup will be played at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City and Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. Urawa enter the competition at the quarter-final stage on December 9 and will play the winner of the opening clash between Jazira and New Zealand’s Auckland City.
The winner of the last-eight encounter will then take on Madrid in the semi-finals four days later.